An Exciting June

Greetings Church Family,

June has been an exciting month for Stonebridge UMC. VBS energized our building with a host of children. Last Sunday we commissioned one of the largest groups of youth in the past few years for their mission trip to serve the helping agency UM Army. The Summer Listening Tour – Making Stonebridge UNSTOPPABLE has been outstanding with great participation and a host of ideas to consider. And… this month we received another 8 members into our church family. 

For me, the Summer Listening Tour – Making Stonebridge UNSTOPPABLE, has given me a chance to make connections with people and gain insight into the hopes and dreams of our congregation for the future. 

A recurring theme during our first five sessions is that our landscaping needs immediate attention. I have consulted a few experts in our congregation and have already had donors come forward saying they would like to help us. We will start with the northside entrance of the church. We have drainage to repair, beds to refresh, trees and shrubs to trim. It is a big project which will take several weeks to complete. The drainage issue is critical. It already has created an unsightly situation on that side of the building, and it could eventually compromise the foundation of the church. It must be fixed. 

My prayer to the church during the month of July is that we will find the funding to make this happen sooner rather than later. If we were to contract this project to a landscaper, the cost would be over $40,000. Jim Zodrow and Kurt Roy have agreed to be our project managers for our volunteers to address the flower beds, spreading new soil, and trimming the trees - saving us over $16,000. 

We have received $10,000 from three families to address the drainage issue, the plants for the new beds, and the soil to replace what has eroded away. Chuck Masterson made a generous donation in memory of his wife, Ruthie Masterson. We will name the expanded flower bed in memory of Ruthie Masterson. This will be a great tribute to a wonderful woman.

That leaves the cost of laying new sod. We need an additional $20,000. Can you help?

Specifically, the project will take 22 pallets of new sod. Can you and your family donate a pallet at $1,000 or half a pallet at $500?

Amy and I want to get this started, so we are donating $1,000 to the first pallet of Zoysia turf. Will you join us? 

This is an opportunity to step up immediately and to answer the call to make Stonebridge UNSTOPPABLE. If you are able to help, please contact me with your donation amount and let me know if you can bring a check or make an online donation to the church no later than July 31st. These donations should be above our regular ministry offerings. 

This is just the first project to come out of the Listening Tour. More to come as we make Stonebridge UNSTOPPABLE in reaching people for Jesus Christ. 

See you Sunday! As we continue the sermon series on the Apostle Paul, we will be looking at his first missionary journey. Here we see the incredible faith of Paul and Barnabas, as they followed the leadership of the Holy Spirit through challenging situations. 

Pastor John Allen