May 2, 2023
Dear friends,
The main area of focus for the Leadership Team of Embry Hills is to cultivate a culture of discipleship. Below you will find an update from the Leadership Team Chair, Lance Waller, on the many different ways and avenues the Leadership Team is helping hold that focus. If there is anything about which you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to any members of the team, but we want to see this culture move into all areas of our life, and how we can be disciples of Jesus Christ, together.
Peace,
Jordan
April 2023 Leadership Team Update
Dear Members of Embry Hills United Methodist Church:
Thank you for your support of your church! Many thanks to the staff and volunteers who worked so hard for our Lenten and Passion Week services. It was great to see so many faces on Palm Sunday and Easter.
In addition to our quarterly financial update that I provided in the service and written up for the Source by Karen Wheel-Carter, here is a short overview of Leadership Team activities in progress:
Updates:
Capital Campaign Projects: Many thanks for your great generosity in last year’s capital campaign which provides a strong financial basis for larger projects around our facilities. There are three main projects in development at this time.
Security system: Jim McGarrah is looking into updates to the security system for our building, exploring the costs and benefits of linking our key system with our alarm systems. He is securing recommendations for a security audit and vendors to provide bids on updating the system.
Playground drainage: Andy is working with contractors on a plan and schedule to update drainage for the playground that will both provide up-to-code ground cover as well as sloping the playground away from the side door to the chapel. Meeting both is a bit tricky, so the planning and bidding needs to be carefully done.
Room 401, Education Building: Lisa Jones is collecting bids on updating Room 401 to provide better meeting space for adult Sunday School programs and working groups.
Note: While the security system and playground are high priority items, they will be more expensive and complicated than the Room 401 update, so you’ll likely notice updates to Room 401 before seeing updates to the playground or the security system.
Other projects:
The Leadership Team is working with Dottie to coordinate a sound system audit for the sanctuary. We have most of the equipment in place for both in-house and remote sound, streaming, and recording(thank you, Dottie!), and the audit will identify if we have any remaining gaps in our system, and whether all the pieces are working together as they should.
Website/electronic communications: EHUMC currently uses multiple vendors for our website hosting, email, online giving, etc. The Leadership Team is working with Laura, Jordan, and Lori to explore the advantages/disadvantages to grouping our systems under a single provider for potential cost savings. We are currently assessing whether we can maintain current levels of security and functionality under such grouped coverage.
Each EHUMC staff member has a member of the Leadership Team as a liaison who checks in before each meeting to address any concerns and make sure they have the support they need for their position.
Reminder:
Now that our 2022 taxes are taken care of and before summer vacations start, please review your pledges to make sure you are up to date in your giving plans. This helps keep our operations in motion and our planning focused and responsible.
Devotional:
In each meeting, the Leadership Team is briefly discussing chapters from Glenn McDonald’s book The Disciple Making Church: From Dry Bones to Spiritual Vitality. Please feel free to read along, there are many fascinating points relating to how we as a church body can be alive and active in developing God’s kingdom.
Thank you again for your continued support of EHUMC. Please feel free to reach out with any questions, etc. lance.waller.nm@gmail.com.