January 2006 Archives

Here are some highlights:

At 75 years old, Margaret Fontaine is on the cutting edge of church ministry.

For years, emphasis has been on the young. Services with multimedia sermons and contemporary music have replaced traditional liturgies. Thousands of dollars have been spent on youth facilities, staff and activities.

"I think we have missed the boat," said the Rev. Regina Wren, pastor of senior spiritual life at First United Methodist Church in Shreveport. "We have given attention to the young adults and youths and made seniors feel they didn't count. I see that shifting."

But population shifts soon will force the issue for ministers. Census figures show there were 45.7 million people over age 60 in the country in 2000. By 2020, that number is expected to be 75.5 million.

A boomer himself, the Rev. Ted Scott, pastor of Harvest Temple Church of God in Christ in Bossier City, sees firsthand the need to develop a senior ministry.

"If the church is not preparing to minister to them, what is the church going to do?"

For anyone still looking for reasons to begin a senior adult ministry, Gentzler references Scriptures that encourage care of the elderly and puts it bluntly:

"For any church not to be concerned about the faith development of older people is to be less than faithful to God," he said. "God calls us at whatever age, and the church should be faithful in helping them grow in understanding."

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Effective January 8, 2006

Some of the changes include the following:

First-Class Mail Letter (1 oz.) - from 37¢ to 39¢
First-Class Mail Letter (2 oz.) - from 60¢ to 63¢
Postcard - from 23¢ to 24¢
Priority Mail (1 lb.) and Flat Rate Envelope - from $3.85 to $4.05

Get more information on the new rates and fees.

Here's something from the 43 Folders website we can all benefit from:

When people ask me to start a new project of any kind — and assuming it is something I’m actually interested in doing — I try to set reasonable boundaries and expectations on how actively I’ll participate as well as how much time and availability I can afford to spend on it. The key for me has been to set fairly hard numerical caps on time, access, and the amount of attention that I want to contribute — and to do so early in the life of the relationship. Here’s the way I put it in that post from December 2004:

So, what used to be “Sure, I’ll do your web site” is now more often “Sure, I’ll give you 10 hours and 3 calls over the next month to use however you want.” If nothing else, it helps everyone understand that time is a precious commodity, but it also gets me out of being the de facto manager for every aspect of a project I touch.

I’ll also share that this “yes, but…” approach also works great for honest-to-God work, as well. It means that my client and I have a fair and honest understanding of how quickly and often we can expect each others’ full attention as well as being able to generate a hard number to guide when the clock is starting to run down. You wouldn’t believe how priorities re-align when people see that 80% of the time or budget is gone.

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These forms are available only when connecting from within the church office network. Online forms will be available soon.

Attendance Form

Facility Checkout

Facility Lock-Up Procedure

Facility Request Form

Facility Request Form (internal)

Time Card Template

More Forms

• We have to be motivated to motivate
• Motivation requires a goal
• Motivation, once established, never lasts
• Motivation requires recognition
• Participation motivates
• Seeing ourselves progress motivates us
• Challenge only motivates if you can win
• Everybody has a motivational fuse
• Belonging to a group motivates

Read the free e-book, The Laws of Motivation

(thanks to lifehack.org)