Members of your Administrative Council have been hard at work since the beginning of the year formulating plans to grow Holy Covenant, provide programs to help our members grow in their spiritual journey and develop ways for members to serve in meaningful ways. At the April meeting, we accomplished some very important work refining the mission statement of Holy Covenant United Methodist Church. (See the article by Randy Lasley in this newsletter.) Part of the information that guided our work and the ministry plans in process was the result of a survey completed in worship services a few weeks ago. Pastor Carol’s sermon focused on how we all serve in ways that fulfill a personal passion. She asked us to examine what speaks most to us in terms of who needs our service and list the ministry where we feel most called to serve. At the end of the service, she asked us to bring our cards up to the altar and leave them. She compiled the responses and listed the results for us in a subsequent sermon.

We all have different motivations and passions that result in the decisions we make to serve. This is evidenced in the committees we choose and the projects for which we volunteer. The Ad Council took the results of the survey seriously – it was clear the biggest interests and needs of the members who completed the cards fell into a couple of categories. Although many interests, groups and causes were listed, children and families were listed by more people than any other ministry area. This was a clear guide for the leaders of the ministry teams and Ad Council. See the results below.

Areas of Calling – 2016 Congregation

Children – 32

Families – 31

(includes families raising children of all ages with special needs) Poverty/Homelessness/Stranger/Hunger – 25

Those who are “Lost,” Unseen or Invisible – 9

LGBTQ community – 8

Violence/Death Penalty – 7

Informed – 7

Elderly – 3

Immigration – 3

Grieving – 2

We look forward to a year of continued growth for the rest of 2016. Please consider how you feel called to serve as you see new plans and programs introduced.

Jana Pope

Ad Council Chair