Pastor Dwaine’s Annual Report for 2009
In a recent sermon, I spent a little time looking back at some of the challenges our country has faced in the past decade – everything from 9/11 to the worst recession since the 1930’s. It has indeed been a difficult 10 years.
That sermon led me also to look back at the last decade at Resurrection. In an annual report, we often limit our thinking to the year that has just passed. But perhaps it might be helpful to occasionally take a longer view. That’s what I’d like to do in the first part of this report. I will offer a review of how some things are different in 2009 than they were in 1999. What we discover is that even though the last 10 years offered difficulties for the world around us, this congregation experienced God’s blessing in some remarkable ways during that time.
In 1999, we had just begun working on goals created by a Congregational Mission Plan. The same thing was true in 2009. In 1999, our congregational membership was 694, with an average of 166 people in worship each Sunday. At the end of 2009, our membership had grown to 876 and we averaged 227 in worship each week. In 1999, our General Fund Budget was $141,830. We received $158,653 in total income and offered $11,200 to benevolence ministries beyond our congregation. In 2009 our General Fund Budget was $299,000. We received $336,921 in total income and offered over $40,000 to ministries beyond Resurrection.
In 1999, we were in the initial planning stages of a building program for what would become our education addition. The 1999 congregational mortgage on our initial building was $228,474. In 2009, we are getting ready to form a new building task force to look at building needs and our congregational mortgage has been reduced to $32,172. (This, after the $350,000 project that was completed in 2001)
In 1999, we called for the first time a part-time youth and family ministry coordinator. (Sandy Spiczka) In 2009, Sandy returned to our staff in a similar capacity. In addition our 2009 staff includes a nearly 2/3 time associate pastor, plus part-time office, custodial, nursery and music staff. In 1999, we had two services on Sunday mornings during the school year, plus one service each Sunday during the summer. That year we began a contemporary worship option at our 11:00 a.m. worship. During 2009, we had two Sunday worship opportunities year round. We also added a Wednesday worship (averaging over 60 people), along with a meal and an additional children’s education opportunity that evening. In 1999, we were just beginning to talk about how we might reach out to the students on the local college campuses. Now, campus ministry is an important part of Pastor Linda’s pastoral call.
There is more about which I could write, but I think the things I have shared give a good glimpse of how God’s grace and the faithfulness of our members have allowed our mission as a congregation to grow over the past decade. What a blessing it has been for me to be a part of such an amazing journey.
As I look specifically at the year 2009, we experienced both joys and challenges. Throughout the year, we continued our “Book of Faith” emphasis that encourages members to grow more familiar with the Bible and its message. Many people have been involved with the studies and reading groups we offer in our congregation, and even more are finding ways to make reading scripture a daily part of their lives.
In February we celebrated our congregation’s 25th Anniversary. It was a wonderful opportunity to remember and give thanks for God’s goodness, as well as the faithfulness of the many people who have had a part in Resurrection’s mission. Bishop Jon Anderson was our guest and preacher that day and spoke to me of his joy at being with us, as well as his positive impressions of seeing such a diversity of ages represented in the congregation and its worship leadership that day.
The addition of our WoW! worship and the education opportunity and meal on Wednesday evenings has been very positive. We have consistently had over 30 people present for that meal and WoW! worship attendance averaged 65. This meant that our weekly worship attendance from Rally Sunday in September to the end of December was 286 in 2009, compared to 241 in 2008. I appreciate all the hard work so many people are contributing to make this a great addition to our mission and outreach.
In October, Mark Mathews was ordained into ministry in a service at Resurrection. Mark, Rebecca and their family are now living in Greenbush, Minnesota where Mark is serving as pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church. Mark joins Becky Thomas and Kathy Bruns as former members of Resurrection who are now serving in ordained ministry. (Resurrection member Deb Robinson is also on the ELCA roster as an Associate in Ministry.)
In addition to all the ministries that take place here at Resurrection, we also continued our support of God’s work beyond our walls. Many of our members offer their time to the work of Habitat for Humanity, the St. Joseph Food Shelf and other important organizations. Through our congregation’s spending plan, we give financial gifts that send missionaries, train pastors, begin new congregations, and support the work of campus ministries, Bible Camps, and Lutheran Social Service – plus much more. In addition, generous special offerings were received in 2009 for Anna Marie’s (the Women’s Shelter in St. Cloud), the Lutheran World Hunger Appeal, the St. Joseph Food Shelf, People’s Church in Bemidji, and a project to build a clinic in Kenya. It’s amazing to see how our mission reaches far beyond the communities in which we live.
There have also been some challenges this year. At the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August, proposals were approved that would allow congregations who so choose to call pastors who are gay or lesbian and living in committed, lifelong relationships, as well as offer blessings for same sex couples. It was a decision that some in the ELCA found troubling and contrary to scripture. At the same time, others believe that those decisions were faithful and led by God’s Spirit. Within our congregation, we also have a variety of viewpoints on these issues. We have had conversations by our church council and congregational forums to allow people to share their ideas, concerns and questions. At this time, we recognize that though we may disagree about this issue (and many others too), the unity we find in Christ is greater than our differences. People on both sides of this issue will be welcome at Resurrection and their views will be respected. Your church council notes that these decisions do not change the fact that this congregation continues to have authority to call whatever pastors they believe are best suited to provide leadership and ministry here.
A second challenge has been financial. For the first time in at least 12 years, our congregation’s financial giving declined in 2009. This was the result of two main factors. One was the recession and financial challenges faced by some of our members. There are people here that simply do not have the resources to share as generously as they have in the past. In addition, some who disagreed with the ELCA decisions that I mentioned earlier chose to reduce their level of giving because of their concerns. While those factors affected us, the continued faithful gifts of our members and a conservative approach to spending meant that we were still able to end the year having fulfilled all of our financial commitments. As you will see in our proposed 2010 Mission Spending Plan, we have made some reductions in planned spending from previous years. But even with those reductions, I am pleased that we were able to keep all of our staff at their present level of hours. I trust that ministry and the growth of Resurrection’s mission will continue in 2010 and beyond.
God has indeed been good to us at Resurrection, both in the last decade and in 2009. We have witnessed amazing growth in our congregation, both in numbers and in fulfilling our call to bring God’s love and care to our communities and world. For all of that I praise God and give thanks to you, the members of this congregation, for your faithful service and support that makes our mission possible.
Thank you for the privilege of serving as your pastor.
Pastor Dwaine Bruns