Welcome to Calvary Lutheran Ministries
It will be one year ago this month when we, as a congregation, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, decided to enter the Transforming for Mission process. It has been a very busy but also very focused year since that weekend visit from the Mission team. And for me, it has also been one of the most productive and transforming years of my 27 year ministry. What the Lord has worked in me is renewal – renewal of hope – renewal of passion – and renewal of possibility!
We began this new fiscal year in September with some very difficult realities. We all know what is going on in our economy and how that has affected not only our school enrollment for this year, but how it has affected some of our member families and school families. Many are facing layoffs, loss of homes, and the like – and there doesn’t appear to be a quick recovery on the horizon. We live in a rapidly changing community and area- the people who are moving into our village speak many different languages and have very different customs than us – and do not come from a Christian culture. Calvary has been instrumental in building and maintaining two low income senior housing units, but we had very little contact with the residents of these facilities. And we adopted a substantial deficit budget in the midst of these challenges! It was not a very hopeful outlook – and yet – our hope-filled God was preparing us to learn that He can work under the most difficult of circumstances, and while the challenges are real, the possibilities are endless.
Through the first 5 months of this fiscal year, we have a $3,000 surplus, due to the diligence of our staff and leadership, the response of Calvary’s member and a small increase in our student population. We have a Bible study that meets weekly at Wittenberg with an average attendance of 10, and an enrollment of 13, with 3 of these attending services occasionally. We have been cleared to start a monthly Sunday afternoon hymn sing and devotional in the Day Room (more on this to follow). We had our annual Open House for the school and handed out 13 new preschool registration packets and 13 new K-8 registration packets – and we continue to receive inquiries. We are sponsoring the Calvary Angels T-ball team in the San Lorenzo little league this spring and summer and are developing a sponsorship sign to hang at the park. And I was extremely touched by the number of church members who turned out to help and encourage our staff and welcome those who came to the Open House. God is working wonders!
We are now working on the last prescription of changing our governance structure to better facilitate accomplishing our mission and vision. I am hopeful this will be in place within the next few months. The model we are working with will release more workers into the mission field and improve our decision making process.
Yet, to me, the most important element in working this renewal among us is our prayer ministry. We have over 120 on our email prayer list, allowing for prayers to start within minutes of a known need! And also a very quick way to show the miraculous answers God is giving! And our prayer quilt ministry has touched more than 110 lives directly and countless others with the loving presence of our God. I hope and pray that you are as hopeful and excited about our new year as I am – our God is an awesome God!
Pastor Jim Bothwell
March, 2010