Pastor's Message

Dear COR community,

I hope you are having a blessed Lent. I am really enjoying the opportunity to pray and sing with others mid-week at the Wednesday Lenten services. Many of us are enjoying the new sanctuary arrangement. The worship staff and I are working hard to plan for Holy Week and Easter, so we hope you will join us for that meaningful and joyful week of celebration.

Meanwhile, there are a few updates on what you heard at the Annual Meeting.  (If you weren’t able to attend, we presented a five-point financial stability plan at that meeting, and we scheduled the next congregational meeting for May 7 — as near as I can make it to 11:15 a.m.)  Our council president, Randy Kohn, is hard at work in discussions with the town of Delafield about selling our outlot as we discussed. It’s not quite “sale season” yet, but coming soon. The line of credit was approved, but we have not needed to draw on it. If you’re a careful reader, you will have noticed a box once a month in the newsletter summarizing our monthly financial situation. February was really strong and our budget balanced, which is great! Thank you to those of you who made extra financial gifts as you were able. As Paul wrote in scripture, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Our treasurer, Barb Maloney, reports that we are almost entirely caught up in last year’s payments to the mission of the month fund. This year, we have been on track - what came in is going exactly as the donors have designated. I am so proud of the finance team, staff and council for making this commitment to honoring “donor intent.”

Our Transition Team completed five Cottage Sessions, listening to a variety of members. Thank you also to those of you who gave your time to come and talk about our church community, what you value, and what is your own experience. We asked the same five questions and heard some common themes.

Our church excels at and we value:

1. Our programming in music
2. Our programs for children and youth
3. The importance of our outreach
4. Our style of worship

When we asked, “If we had all of the money and all of the people we could want, what would  we be doing?” about half of the people present said “more outreach,” “more service to the needy,” and “more gifts to the poor.” In other words, we love acting as God’s hands and feet and serving people’s practical needs. We also love the lively and varied musical gifts cultivated here and offered to God’s glory; we love the music whether or not we ourselves are musicians! And we love the high quality and consistency of the programs for our children and youth — whether or not we have kids in our own families right now. We also like the particular combination of “traditional Lutheran” and lively energetic worship that COR practices. So, this is wonderful. No big surprise, but a great celebration of our very fine musical staff and staff and volunteers working with young people.

We also heard some themes about folks who have different experiences here.

1. The quality of our relationships - Are they “like family” and “very close” or are they “disconnected”?  Depends on who is talking.
2. The number of faith formation opportunities - “many” or “few.”  
3. The number of programs - “many” or “few.” That’s actually measurable. Church studies usually recommend a one to thirty ratio — one program to 30 members.

These three items are actually patterns demonstrated in many churches of our size. You can find the complete notes of the cottage sessions online at www.sharefollowserve.com.

Our next step is to have a joint discussion about church size and pastor roles with the Transition Team and Church Council at the end of the month. (The staff are also invited to an optional meeting discussing the same materials.)

If you have some comments or concerns about any of this, please feel free to stop me or make an appointment to talk. I work different hours depending on the number of evening meetings I need to attend, but my schedule is generally posted on my office door. Please know that I pray for you all daily, and love to listen, learn and talk. 

Pastor Paula