Happy Wednesday High Places,
This Sunday our children will lead us in an interactive "safari" type experience in the big theater. We plan to be considerate of space and too much mingling for any that have covid concerns, while at the same time being creative in presenting the experience our children had last month under Kady's creative direction. There will be music, skits, activities, and even a closing prayer station in the lobby with take-home items to help us stay focused in prayer in the coming weeks.
It will be a fun, meaningful Sunday for sure! Please plan to attend and bring a friend if you can to share the joy.
In preparation for our "not-overly-mobile" safari, we are looking for decorations to place in a few special areas of the large auditorium. We could really use your house plants and flowers; and if at all possible, we want to borrow them for a couple of hours! Kady will be at the Grove between 6:00 - 7:00PM on Saturday evening to collect what we borrow and decorate the stage and surrounding area. We want to go for a nice, "green" look to enhance our learning experience -- so if you have fake plants, real plants, pots of flowers that are easy to transport, bring them by on Saturday evening. And if you are up for it, stay a minute to help Kady decorate for this Sunday.
We're also looking for any safari themed items you might have around the house, like binoculars or eye-pieces, stuffed zoo animals, old maps and globes, or anything that says we are on an adventure! Drop these items by on Saturday evening as well and we try to put them to good use. And of course if you want to dress up like an adventurer for our time together, you go right ahead and just do YOU!
We plan to have a great time, share in laughter as we learn, and close our series on prayer where it all started -- with our children.
SPECIAL THANKS for all those who were able to attend our High Places meeting on Thursday last week -- wow, what a group! It was heartening to see so many and for so many of us to be all together again after so much separation through the pandemic. We look forward to re-energizing many of our teams and getting back to the vibrant ministries that always come from God's people working together and exercising their gifts. I heard from several who couldn't be there but wanted to be, and while we were unable to get a video recording of the meeting, we do have an audio recording which I hope to upload sometime next week.
In the meantime, I did put up a very quick "snapshot" video on vimeo if you'd like to watch it. The video doesn't come close to capturing all the in's and out's of our two system organization, but it is a short introduction into that world. You can see it here -- https://vimeo.com/540683595
Finally, I am cutting and pasting a very quick summary of our service and support teams below for any who might want to know more, or just review areas where they might want to serve. No one gets "locked in" on a team, and just because a person is formerly serving in one area, doesn't mean they can't jump in on the fun in another area as God leads. The teams are more just meant to connect our staff, our leaders, and our volunteers together in ways that can accomplish more by working together, as well as helping us streamline communication.
It's a long list, so I will close with that after saying again how wonderful it is to serve the Lord with each of you. Much love to you and thank you for all the gifts you bring week in and week out to our church.
David
SERVICE & SUPPORT TEAMS (Just a fun - in a nutshell - and maybe nutty -- description of each) If I forgot one, forgive me Martin!
Ambience Team - Works with the overall look and “feel” of the facility, including during seasonal or special events like Christmas or Easter. If you love decorating, or the feeling you get from transforming a space into something more beautiful, this is your team! Currently this team is led by Carmen and Joshua Fischer, with some big time help from Kathy Giles each week!
Finance Team - Don’t let the story of Judas managing the treasury affect your feeling for church finances! We couldn’t make it without this team serving our staff in finances, including making deposits, assembling budget data, helping make disbursements, shopping health care plans for staff, and communicating with the larger church family our financial needs. Our treasurer is Marilyn Parham, see her if you want to plug in!
‘Touchy Feely’ Team – Formerly called our “extra touch team,” this group reaches out to folks who need a touch from our church family, perhaps because of loss, grief, prolonged illness or other situations. They’re touchy and feely in all the right ways; join this team if you’re the kind of person that loves baking a casserole for a family who has lost a loved one, or if you just like sending pick-me up cards for no reason at all! This team is currently led by Katie Fischer with Carmen Fischer assisting.
Music Team (Includes choir team currently) – This team puts their musical gifts to work in all areas of our ministries: children, youth, and adult. This team is willing to practice, plan, and listen to God as they share in the gift of music. It’s not all guitars and drums either, any instruments are welcome – even kazoo’s (just ask around about that one!). This team also seeks out ‘special music’ for outreach or other occasions as well. If you have a song to share, see our team leader Martin Fischer for how to join this team.
Prayer Team – Currently led by Carmen Fischer, you can become a member of this team by requesting the prayer emails that come out a few times a week and becoming a prayer partner with High Places. The church that prays together stays together!
Security Team – Manages the safety and security of the building during our main meetings; works with fire department, sprinkler system, and alarm company to ensure overall building safety. Not a glamorous team and one we’re happy to keep under the radar, our security team loves our church and simply wants everyone to have a safe experience at High Places. See Trina Baughn or Dan Mantooth if you would like to know more about this team.
Kitchen & Food Team – Because what is church life like without tater tots? (Pastor joke!). This team works bring folks together around food, including snacks & coffee on Sunday mornings, with an aim to re-establish a fellowship meal once a month. They also work the food needs for special events, meetings, or other food related needs across all areas of ministry. We’re in the process of sorting out team members and team leaders here, stay tuned!
Facility (Including Mowing and Grounds) – This team likes to roll up their sleeves and fix things like light switches, carpet tears, or holes in sheetrock. When it comes to a thermostat, a roof, or a plumbing issue, this team helps us keep the gift of the Grove Theater up and running. Don Fleischer, Tim Fischer, and Jay Jernigan have often swapped around responsibilities for this team in the past. We’re in the process of regrouping post-covid, with most major projects being organized and led by Tim.
Cleaning Team – Looking for a team that isn’t in the spotlight? Our cleaning team helps us keep the facility clean and sanitary for everyone, keeps bathrooms stocked with paper products, soap, and other needs. Currently managed by Kathy Monger, with help always wanted. I love the smell of bleach in the morning!
Community Events & Hosting Team – The theater hosts hundreds of events, groups, and special occasions every year. Each of those groups need a touch and friendly face willing to unlock the door, give a tour of the building, or be available to answer question. As a bonus, team members who serve for special events often get to enjoy the event free of charge, whoo-hoo! This team needs a few more helpers, currently led by David Allred and mom, Norma, as well as Melanie Mitchell who help create and manage the community calendar.
Audio / Visual Team – With a sound board that resembles an airline cockpit, if you ever wondered what that button does and wanted to press it, this could be your team. Running lights and sound for our main meetings, as well as helping our community partners better understand our systems is big part of any successful event. This team has an ear for talent (pun intended). Tim Fischer leads this team with the irreplaceable theater expertise of Jason Herrera.
Office and Administrative Team – Keeping our copier full of toner, paper stocked, and files organized is important, especially with a lead pastor who leaves important items laying around all the time! This team keeps us organized, including helping us update our database, manage our calendar and websites, and anything that helps us streamline our ministries toward greater effectiveness.
Photography / Video Team – Sometimes things so amazing happen we wish we could see them again, or capture them in a photograph for other church members to see. This team helps us capture special moments and archive them for the whole church family. Are you a scrap booker, or do you like pointing a camera and things rather than being in the middle of them? You might be the perfect fit for this team! We haven’t made a scrapbook since our sweet Julie Crist passed away.
Extra Touch & Community Team – Often members of our church fall on hard times, and quite often our church is called to assist in helping someone in our community dealing with homelessness, missed utility payments, and other needs. Sometimes folks just need a ride to church, or a ride to a job interview but do not have reliable transportation. Chad O’Neal is taking the lead on working with families who have fallen on hard times or who have special needs. If you have a heart for this kind of service, see Chad for more details.