The Administrative Board met this week. It is a blessing to work with such a focused and talented group of leaders. Our opening devotion came from Bishop Janice Huie’s Reservoirs of Resilience. She talks about how faith is never stagnant. It moves us constantly between dependence on God and working with God in the world. Often stress will push us to a place where we need to retreat and reconnect with God through worship and prayer. Intimacy with God pushes us to serve others and invite them into a relationship with God.
The Board also celebrated that our PPP loan has been forgiven and the financial position of the church continues to improve. We are now able to put more energy into reaching out into our neighborhood and blessing others. The Board approved raising teacher pay in the day school. This will bring our teachers up to a more livable wage. The starting salary will now be $15 dollars an hour. With the cost of everyday essentials rising every day, it is important that we care for this part of our Grace family.
Our Lay Conference Representative, Becky Marsh, shared about the upcoming Conference Meeting. The Judicial Council recently released a decision making it clear that, while the Discipline makes provisions for churches to disaffiliate if they wish, it does not allow Annual Conferences to vote on disaffiliation unless there is an action by the General Conference first. This nullifies a couple of actions that were on the TXAC agenda. It is anticipated that there will still be much conversation about the future of the denomination and the financial implications of pensions and churches. To hear more, be sure that you join us for church on June 5, to hear Becky’s report after the conference.
The next Administrative Board meeting is scheduled for June 15.