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August 2007 Pastoral Letter

 

Dear Members and Friends of First Church,

I trust that this email greeting finds you well and enjoying your summer, wherever you may be. The weather here in southwest Florida has been normal — high of about 90 with afternoon showers. We are thankful that no tropical storms have appeared yet, and are praying (as I know you are) that the Lord will mercifully protect us from any serious hurricanes again this year. It’s my understanding that changes made by the Florida legislature should begin to bring down our property insurance rates — if we can get through 2007 without a catastrophic storm hitting anywhere in the state. I’d like to take this opportunity to fill you in on our recent life here at First Church in Bonita Springs while you’ve been gone from us.

SUMMER WORSHIP SERVICES
I hope you are making it a practice to visit the church website and read our sermons. On July 1 (the Sunday preceding the celebration of our nation’s independence) I spoke on the question, “Is God an American?” You may wish to read that, as well as Paul Fahnestock’s message the following week about inviting Christ into every aspect of our lives (“What Are You Missing?). Beginning in mid-July we began a 4-week series of messages on the Book of Philippians. This past week’s message (August 5), concluding the series, is entitled “Taking the Antidote.” It deals with the common problem of worry — something we all face — and how a Christian can handle that.

STAFF CHANGES
In July we were sorry to receive the resignation of Mr. Joe Cartwright, who had served us well and faithfully for over a year as our Accounting Manager. Joe had been suffering some health problems and felt a need to take time off. We all enjoyed working with Joe, and wish him the best in his recovery. As a result of Joe’s departure we have engaged the part-time services of a local CPA named Maria Pate, who has extensive experience in church accounting and is fluent in our software program. She is handling, on an “outsource” basis, the higher-level accounting tasks, while our office staff members Mrs. Marian Horgan and Mrs. Laura Bourdeau are capably covering the basic weekly tasks of posting contributions and processing payments.

COMMUNITY ISSUE
An important initiative about to come before the City Council of Bonita Springs is a proposal (developed by a number of Christian and other charitable organizations) to create a centralized social services campus to better help the poor and needy of our community. I think this is an excellent concept that will be a very positive step forward. It has been coordinated by the newly-formed Bonita Partnership for Compassion. [Mrs. Linda Fahnestock — Paul’s wife — has been serving as its Director this year and has done a great job.] The Partnership has developed a plan for building what they will call a Family Resource Center on an 8-acre vacant lot on East Terry Street. Local organizations like the Café of Life, Bonita Assistance, Literacy Council, Salvation Army, and many more can work together there. The biggest problem is the predictable “not in my back yard” (or NIMBY) syndrome among some residents. The upcoming public debate and the decision by the Council will be very interesting to watch. To read more about the plans for the Bonita Springs Family Resource Center, you can visit their website at: www.bsfrc.org.

FALL EVENTS AT FIRST CHURCH
The staff and lay leaders are using the slower pace of the summer months to plan for an exciting fall season. I am preparing to teach a Pastor’s Study on Wednesday nights in October and November on the life of Moses — one of the greatest leaders in all history. It is fascinating to see how God took this most unlikely (and unwilling) hero and used him to bring deliverance for His people. One other event you will not want to miss, if you are here in Florida, is the first speaker of our five-part Bonita Christian Forum series: Mr. Pat Williams, senior vice-president of the Orlando Magic NBA team and a deeply committed Christian. Those sports fans who are frustrated, as I am, by all the terrible role models and scandals we keep reading about in the headlines of the sports page will find it refreshing to meet a man who has demonstrated integrity in the midst of all the pressures of big-time athletics. Pat will speak on Thursday night, November 29. If you would like to meet Pat personally and attend a reception with him, you might want to consider becoming a sponsor of the Forum. Those who provide a significant contribution towards sustaining this outreach to our community are invited to private gatherings with each of the speakers. The other four speakers for our 2007-2008 season are: Rebecca Hagelin of the Heritage Foundation; Jim Towey, Director of the White House “Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives” (2002-2006); Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr; and author/screenwriter Eric Metaxas (of the film, Amazing Grace).

I would love to hear from you by email reply. And, especially, if you or a family member has a special need for which we can be praying, please let us know. We all look forward to seeing you on your return to southwest Florida!

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Doug Pratt