Comments on the 40th Anniversary
Celebration and OfferingFor Smoke Rise Baptist Church
By Robert F. Browning, Pastor
March 6, 2008
It is time for us to make preparations to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Smoke Rise Baptist Church. Our church was constituted on September 14, 1969, and in September, 2009, we want to have a day of celebration and thanksgiving. I want to share my ideas with you about this historic event and challenge the church to achieve some goals that will help us express gratitude to God and prepare for the next generation of ministry.
“Celebrating our Heritage by Preparing for our Future” will be our anniversary theme. As you can see, our focus will be on the past and the future. Let’s use this celebration as a foundation upon which the next generation can continue the work that began forty years ago.
I have asked Kathy Goodenow and Arlene Kirkland to co-chair the Celebration Committee. With the help of a lot of church members, they will make the plans and preparations for the celebration, including setting the date and working out all the details of the event. I appreciate their willingness to serve and lead us. The plans for our celebration are in good hands!
I have also asked Graham Stovall to chair a committee that will help us raise money for the celebration and related items. He has graciously agreed and set aside time from his busy schedule to lead this committee. I am most grateful for his leadership and the gift of his time. Let me share my ideas about the money we raise.
I believe we need to turn our attention to the sanctuary and make some improvements to it in anticipation of the 40th Anniversary Celebration. During the first phase of the “Faith, Family and Future” campaign five years ago, we directed our attention primarily to the needs of our children and youth. Improvements were made to the parts of the facilities that they use, along with the renovation of the kitchen. We also put in new heating/cooling systems throughout the buildings that have produced great energy savings. How grateful I am for these improvements. We did the right thing at the right time and were good stewards of the facilities entrusted to our care.
Now it is time to address the needs of our sanctuary that were mentioned in phase two of the “Faith, Family and Future” campaign. I believe the time is right to tackle these in light of our 40th Anniversary.
Our pipe organ needs to be repaired. An organ that is the quality of the one that we have could cost well over three times the original price to replace, or one million dollars. Very little money has been spent on the organ since it was installed and it is time to turn our attention to it. Danny tells us it will cost about $200,000 to repair it, possibly a little less. I strongly encourage us to make these repairs in time for the 40th celebration.
In 2006, we replaced the ceiling in the sanctuary for two reasons. Some of the tiles were stained due to water damage. We felt this was a good time to replace the ceiling with a hard surface to improve the acoustics. As a result, the walls and ceiling were replaced with sheet rock and the acoustics have improved greatly.
It is now time to finish that task. The carpet needs to be replaced with a more acoustically friendly surface. In addition, the carpet is twenty years old, faded and worn. The time has come to replace it.
This will require removing and repairing broken pews, replacing pew cushions and carpet. The estimated cost is $225,000.
It would be nice to complete these tasks by the 40th Anniversary Celebration. Just as you would spruce up your home for a special event, we need to make these improvements to our sanctuary and be good stewards of this part of our facility as we have other areas.
We also need money to fund our celebration. No money is budgeted for this. We estimate that our celebration will cost about $30,000, which includes updating our history, serving a meal, commissioning a hymn for the celebration, producing a celebration video, providing anniversary souvenirs, bringing in guest speakers, taking pictures and publicizing this historic event. Kathy and Arlene will need money to plan a celebration fitting the occasion.
The Celebration Offering also has a missions component. We would like to match the amount we’ll spend on our celebration, $30,000, and give this to a partnering church to help them further their ministries and celebrate their heritage. Tim Adcox has begun researching this for us and will share details as they become available.
There is one more item we need to raise money for and that is mortgage retirement. At the beginning of 2008, the church owed approximately $230,000 on our facilities. The money to pay off the debt was escrowed from available funds at the end of 2007 so that more could be budgeted this year for ministry. Due to the generosity of church members and the wise stewardship of these funds by the staff and lay leaders, the church was in a position to do this.
We need to repay the church for a portion of the money that was escrowed in order to have an adequate amount of available funds for 2008. Like any business, we need to have enough available funds to remain on a firm foundation. The finance committee is recommending that we repay $85,000 out of the $230,000 escrowed. We want to honor their request.
When you add all these items together, they total $570,000. This includes $85,000 for mortgage retirement, $30,000 for celebration expenses, $30,000 for a partnering church, $200,000 to repair the organ and $225,000 to replace the flooring in the sanctuary and repair broken pews.
It is our goal to raise this money in one year, beginning on May 4, 2008. On that day, we will ask members to turn in their 40th Anniversary Commitment cards and receive an offering to kick off the beginning of our celebration.
The Anniversary Offering will be in addition to our tithe that supports the annual budget. It is imperative that we understand this and support the 40th Anniversary Offering with gifts above and beyond our tithe. Meeting budget for 2008 and 2009 is an important part of laying a firm foundation for the next generation of ministry, too.
I am excited about our 40th Anniversary plans and this special offering. I think they will help us accomplish both of our goals for the Anniversary Celebration: “Celebrating our Heritage by Preparing for our Future.” Retiring our debt and making these improvements to our sanctuary will not only make us wise stewards of what has been entrusted to our care, but also pave the way for us to take advantage of expanding ministry and mission opportunities.
I am also excited about the future of this great church. On many occasions, I have talked about my love and appreciation for Smoke Rise Baptist Church. I believe strongly that our community and world need a church like Smoke Rise. I know I do! Let me explain what I mean by this.
People need a church that accepts them where they are on their journey and offers to accompany them along their way. People are starving for community, encouragement and hope. They need a church that can help them make sense of life and embrace them when it doesn’t. They need a church that will help them identify their gifts and empower them to use them to make the world better.
They need a church that reflects the goodness of God and brings this out in them. They need a church that binds their wounds with grace and gives them time to heal. They need a church that will love their children and grandchildren and be good role models.
They need a church that stirs their hearts to worship and connects them to this gracious God revealed through the life of Jesus. They need a church that offers a faith that replaces guilt with forgiveness, despair with hope, hate with love, fear with confidence, confusion with direction, loneliness with companionship and sorrow with joy.
Smoke Rise is this church! Now, it is up to us to do our part to make sure Smoke Rise will be here for the next generation.
I am grateful for the vision and efforts of the people that began this wonderful church, many of whom were members of Briarlake Baptist Church. One hundred one of them assembled on September 15, 1968, in the Idlewood School for the first worship service of this new mission. In record time, almost one year to the date, on September 14, 1969, Smoke Rise was officially constituted with 160 charter members.
In my opinion, these dear people laid the foundation for one of the finest churches it has been my privilege to serve. Down through the years, many have joined them and worked hard to make this dream a reality. It is time for us to add our efforts to theirs as we remember our heritage and prepare for our future. Let’s take advantage of this historic occasion to express our gratitude to God and them and strengthen this church for the next generation of ministry. Join me in praying for those that will lead in our 40th Anniversary plans, volunteering to help when called upon and giving to this special offering. It means a lot to me!
40th Anniversary Offering Breakdown
Ministry Expansion through mortgage retirement: $85,000
Anniversary Celebration 30,000
Mission Component 30,000
Pipe Organ Repair and Refurbishment 200,000
Sanctuary Carpet Replacement and Pew Repair 225,000
Total $570,000
May 4, 2008: Receive an offering and commitment cards to kick off the celebration. We are asking that pledges be honored by April, 2009. |
