“[God’s] faithfulness endures to all generations;

you have established the earth, and it stands fast.”

Psalm 119:90

November 4, 2020

Dear Members and Friends of Zion’s:

God’s grace and peace be with you this day! Back in May, I wrote to you with updates on the progress of our Renew, Restore, Remain Capital Campaign with the promise that I would “be in touch soon” to ask you for a commitment of financial support towards the campaign. We thought, then, that the pandemic would be over by now, and that life would have returned to some semblance of normal.

And, yet, here we are. It’s been nearly eight months since we have gathered all together in our sanctuary to sing praises to God, receive Holy Communion shoulder-to-shoulder at the communion rail, and to share the peace of Christ with handshakes and hugs. The church office and Social Hall are eerily quiet, especially on Wednesdays, which, pre-COVID was a jam-packed community and congregational ministry day. As you have hopefully read in our periodic “Good News” publications, ministry has undoubtedly continued, and even grown, in these pandemic months, but it has been hard. Being physically distanced from each of you, the body of Christ, is wearying. This long time of separation is making me mindful of just how much strength and faith I draw from being with each of you, my faith community, and just how fully my faith takes on flesh (is embodied) in community.

And so I long for the day we can safely gather again in our typical patterns—Coffee Time, ALL CHURCH Sundays, Wednesday night meals, worship with choir anthems, brass, and children’s sermons—just to name a few of my favorite things. And I trust we will return to those activities, with time and precautions, just as we have begun to return to worship in the sanctuary. When we do, I hope I won’t take the ability to gather for granted, as I perhaps have done from time to time. I didn’t know how much I would miss the clamor of our congregation sharing “The peace of Christ be with you!” with each other, the beautiful music offered by our choir and musicians, the joy of children running up for the Children’s Sermon, or the laughter that so often fills the Social Hall…until it was silenced.

These months apart have given me a whole different perspective on our Renew, Restore, Remain Capital Campaign: we have experienced what it is like to not be able to gather in a safe, secure, hospitable building. It’s not that ministry can’t happen outside the walls of our building—it can, it has, and it will continue to happen beyond our walls. The church is not, and never has been, a building; the church is, and always will be, the people. BUT ministry is a whole lot harder when we don’t have (or can’t safely gather in) a safe, secure, hospitable space.

I invite you to partner with Zion’s in creating and sustaining a safe, secure, hospitable building by participating in our Renew, Restore, Remain Capital Campaign. At our January 2020 Congregational Meeting, our congregation committed to several projects that will serve us now and into the future by facilitating a space for sacred, embodied relationships and ministry to flourish. Since January, we’ve replaced the three A/C units in the sanctuary and replaced the old A/C unit in the Pastor’s office with an efficient heating and cooling unit. The Social Hall roof has been re-rubberized, fixing leak issues and preserving its surface for the next twenty years. We are still working on repainting the sanctuary and repairing the cracked molding there. The total dollar value of the Renew, Restore, Remain Capital Campaign also includes $25,000 in debt remaining from the Social Hall and Sunday School wing renovations.

There is still a global pandemic underway. No one knows for sure when it will be safe to gather again in large groups, sing, or forgo face masks in public. In the meantime, we will continue to “be the church” in creative ways, and invite you into an act of hope through your financial support of this Capital Campaign, which, even now is preparing our congregation for that great and glorious day when we can gather all together safely and lift our voices in praise and thanksgiving to God.

The Renew, Restore, Remain Capital Campaign is for a $76,000 loan principal. We give thanks for the $15,000 we have already received towards the principal amount and towards our monthly payments on the loan.  Going forward, all gifts given to the campaign as one-time or continuing gifts will go towards the principal amount of the loan, which we hope to pay off in three years. We ask you to prayerfully consider how the ministries of Zion’s have blessed you, and what it means for you to be able to gather with other believers in a safe, secure, and hospitable place. Then consider how God is calling you to respond to this opportunity to help Zion’s “renew, restore, [and] remain” a sacred space fostering holy relationships and vital ministry for years to come.

You can complete an electronic commitment card here. These commitments are not binding agreements but are helpful in our planning for the future. If you have any questions about the campaign, how to give, or what the covered projects are, please be in touch with me, or any member of our Capital Campaign Team (listed below).

Thank you for your commitment to the ministries that happen within, and beyond, our walls, and thank you for your generosity. I look forward to the day we can all gather together safely in one place, grateful for the safe, secure, hospitable place that will be, by the power of the Holy Spirit and through your financial support of this campaign.

In hope,

Pastor Caitlin Kurtz and the Capital Campaign Team (Ed Ludwig, chair, Jack Beidler, Deb Reiner, Terry Ludwig, and Linda Toth)