Important Words from the Moderator:

We have had an eventful summer at ECUCC and stewardship has been at the center of this activity. We sent a work group to Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, MS June 3 - 9, collected and shipped over 3,000 items for the school children and homeless of Biloxi and sent special monetary gifts to assist the Mission in its efforts to improve the lives of the poorest of the poor along the Mississipi Gulf Coast. We have continued our support of the Hinckley Food Pantry (thanks to Charlie Kocan for continuing to deliver the goods we collect) and reached out to the sick and shut-in members of our faith community through personal visits, phone calls and cards. Each of these efforts calls us to share of ourselves for the betterment of others. That's stewardship and we encounter these giving opportunities everyday. Our charge is to be ready and watchful and toembrace each opportunity when it comes along.

The Spirit is moving through us and I would like to share a very special example with you. During the sermon on Sunday August 12th, I spoke about building "treasures in heaven" and being ever vigilant for opportunities to serve. The O'Neill family was in attendance that day and little Taylor O'Neill responded to my call to stewardship by taking an empty coffee can around her neighborhood and collecting $5.28 for Back Bay Mission. Taylor will be entering 4th grade this year, and I am just awe struck by her gift. When I was entering 4th grade you could not have gotten me to leave the house let alone go door-to-door requesting money for a mission in Mississippi. Pastor has told us many times that acting in faith involves taking a risk. I'm sure Taylor did not know how she was going to be received when she rang those doorbells, but that did not matter. She felt called to help and had the Spirit by her side. This may be the biggest $5.28 we've ever collected at ECUCC, and I pray we as a faith community will continue to embrace our daily opportunities to serve others.

 Finally, I would like to ask you to include the Executive Council in your prayers as we are wrestling with quite a lengthy list of capital improvement projects including: upgrading our sump pump and discharge piping, scraping and painting the wooden exterior to the sanctuary, refinishing the east entry doors, patching the east entry stairs, cutting out and repairing the pavement surrounding drive through island, finishing a space for the youth group, and upgrading the parsonage. Our faith community is focusing on being good stewards to those less fortunate than ourselves, and we are traveling down the right path where outreach is concerned. However, we are also called to maintain our facilities for doing God's work and these capital improvements will be expensive. The Council has always placed a high priority on maintaining the church's reserve funding, but our weekly offerings seem to be running below what the day to day operating budget requires and some of these capital improvements need to be done sooner rather than later. I would like to ask each of you to keep the Council in mind as you dialogue with God each day. He has gifted us with so much and we are striving to share of ourselves at every turn, but we may need to start using our rainy day funds to bring our facilities back to a condition we can be proud of. Thank you for everything you have done and continue doing to support this faith community. God Bless You.

- In Christian faith and love, Dave Bayler (Moderator)