05/24/2024
Good Morning Siblings in Christ,
I just spoke with DS Karen Hernandez. She would like to invite everyone to meet with her in person this weekend to discuss the future of our churches. She wanted me to apologize to you on her behalf for the last minute planning and lateness of notification for these meetings. She's been working hard to find the next step of what ministry needs to look like for our churches, and only realized last night that she needed to meet with you all in person, and that if it didn't happen this weekend, she wouldn't have space in her schedule for months.
She realizes this is a holiday weekend and that not everyone will be able to attend on such short notice, but she'd like to meet with as many people as possible.
She also recognized that the announcement of these sorts of meetings can be scary and make people fear the worse, and she wanted me to make clear that the idea of church closure is not something she expects to talk about at these meetings, rather these meetings will be about looking ahead to how you all can continue and grow our churches after I step down from the pulpit.
Anyone who attends our churches are invited to these meetings, and it's important that we have the voices of anyone who'd like to talk about the future of our churches, but it's important that as many members of our church leadership be there as possible.
The meetings will be as follows:
Tomorrow, Saturday May 25th at 10 am at the Chubbuck Church
5147 Whitaker Rd, Pocatello, ID 83202
Sunday, May 26th at 11:30 am at Pocatello First UMC
200 N 15th Ave B, Pocatello, ID 83201
The Sunday meeting will include a light lunch. It is also scheduled around the same time as our normal American Falls Sunday service, but I would still encourage members from American Falls to attend this meeting if possible. We can talk about arrangements for AF Sunday Service.
As this concerns the direction of the church after my departure, I will not be in attendance, but this is your chance to talk to the District Superintendent about your vision for the future path of our churches.
I will be holding you all in prayer
Grace, Peace, and Love
Pastor Ryan