Watch our 2020 Ministry Review Video
Each year we produce a review of our ministries as a form of Annual Report to capture a snapshot of the amazing things we’ve accomplished as a congregation. For the last few years, it has been an infographic.
Ministry changed so much for us in 2020 we decided we should highlight it the same way we experienced most of it – through video.
We started 2020 strong, inviting guest Calla Gilson to talk about her ministry in Israel and the Holy Land, and Christian band Echelon to give a concert in January. Musicians of all ages started the year in person, singing and playing until we went virtual in March.
We found creative ways to focus on our priorities as we worked from home or with limited interaction.
We kept Christian Education going for all ages by focusing most of our efforts on Zoom calls. Adult learning, new member classes, Sunday School, First Communion, and our new “Let’s Talk About Race” discussions have all used the Zoom platform to keep meeting regularly. We sent materials home for Vacation Bible School and volunteers spent hours filming a virtual program so children could participate in their own time at home throughout the summer.
Lord of Life Christian Preschool followed the school district’s lead and went fully virtual in the spring and then came back in person with appropriate precautions in the fall. Their 2020 enrollment is 84.
We provided 3 scholarships totaling $4,500 as we honored 19 2020 graduates.
Our volunteers and staff found new ways to support our various outreach programs so could fulfill our call to help our neighbors. In 2020 we participated in the summer backpack program, we collected toys and games to distribute at summer lunch, we helped landscape at Union Elementary during God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday; We grew 1,348 pounds of produce in our community garden, we safely hosted families experiencing homelessness through the Family Promise program, we helped assemble 168,246 meals at Hands Against Hunger; we collected 700 items and $500 gas money for the Navajo Nation so they would have personal protective equipment during the pandemic, our quilters made 66 quilts for Family Promise and Haven House, we continued to provide meals at Stepping Forward, we loaded two vans full of mittens and scarves we collected on the Giving Tree, we collected 1,648 pounds of food for Feed Our Neighbors in Need, VBS collected 1,310 items for the food pantry, we collected sheets for hospital gowns and did a fabric drive for breastfeeding covers, and we got our 3D printers going to make over 400 mask straps to give away to folks who had to wear masks full time for work.
We also continued to share our physical and virtual space with other ministries like AA, Al-Anon, scout troop 947, scout pack 919, and VEIL Latino ministry.
Getting out of the building gave us an opportunity to get a few major projects done that would have been difficult when we were at full capacity.
We made major progress on fire suppression and sanctuary lighting for the Share the Light campaign. A grant through the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation allowed us to install a new keycard and camera system for additional security in our building. Our budget provided funds to upgrade our building’s network to give us more stable Wi-Fi. And we transferred our membership data to a new platform, which will make it easier to access and update member information and will provide more up-to-date photo directories.
The part of our life together that changed the most in 2020 is Worship. A handful of moments still had to be in person – we celebrated 3 baptisms, 10 confirmations, a wedding, and four funerals, all with limited attendance or off-campus. In March, we found ourselves packing up equipment and taking it home to set up studios where we could work safely. Just in time for Easter (about an hour late for Easter if we’re being honest), we taught ourselves to blend multiple voices together in worship so we could continue to offer special music, lay assistants and readers, and special offering moments. Our production methods evolved over the year and eventually moved back into the church as we were able to purchase a professional camera system, allowing us to film live worship while physically distanced from each other. Virtual backpack blessings, blessing of the masks, blessing of the beasts, and Midweek Advent Worship were among some of the additional special worship moments we provided online.
Our online impact has been remarkable – Facebook metrics alone show that our posts, mostly comprised of our worship moments, have reached almost 207,000 people around the world. We will continue our online ministry even after we are able to gather at full capacity.
While 2020 certainly wasn’t the year any of us expected, we feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to continue to serve with you in our community. Thank you for the work you continue to do in the world and in God’s church.