Christ the King Lutheran Church
Capital Fund Appeal Case Statement
“Ministry With God: Moving Out the Tent Pegs”
Widen the space of your tent, stretch out your hangings freely, lengthen your ropes, make your pegs firm; for you will burst out to right and to left. (Isaiah 54:2-3a Jerusalem Bible)
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. – (Matthew 28:18-20)
In December 1960, a small yet inspired group of Christians
were so moved by the Spirit that they came together to form CtK in the Charlotte
Avenue School. During that decade, with a chartered membership of 140
people, the church built our parsonage and the initial church building.
To meet growing educational demands, in the late 1980's, a new education
wing was added to the existing building. Improvements were made to the
breezeway in order to accommodate fellowship between and after services at that
time as well. In the 43 years of this faith journey, the CtK family has
truly been blessed with many spiritual gifts and with spiritual growth.
Today, CtK is a church that supports approximately 180 active Sunday
worshippers, ministering to congregational members over a wide geographical
area throughout southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts. While
we have witnessed many changes in the physical appearance of our gathering
place over the years, we strive to remain faithful to our core values of
hospitality, discipleship and being grounded in the Word. These values
are evidenced in a number of areas, including our commitment to offer the
Lord's Supper at every service to all who believe in His true presence,
inclusion of all members of our congregation in leadership roles, and our
promise to tithe 10% of our total income to the New England Synod of the ELCA.
WORSHIP, MISSION SUPPORT, AND LEARNING TOGETHER ARE AT THE HEART OF WHO WE ARE
We are a congregation that believes worship is the heart of our Christian identity, and we celebrate the grace of God in Word and Sacrament ministry each week. In our worship we proclaim the good news of Christ in liturgy and song, in preaching and prayer. Music accompanies our prayer through gifted organists and pianists, children, youth and adult choirs, bell choirs, the brass choir, and the talents of other instrumentalists. Giving joyfully to support the mission and ministry of the New England Synod, ELCA and global and local missions is a powerful witness to all that God has given us. Nearly 15% of our annual total income is devoted to supporting a vast number of organizations that address world hunger and other ministries outside our congregation.
Our Christian education program involves more than 140 young people and adults. Our Chapel School provides another outreach into our community by providing a daily child-centered, Christian oriented preschool serving 2-5 year olds from the Nashua Area.
Women and men join in fellowship that makes our congregation both a "home” and a community. Ministries such as our Youth Ministry, Sarah Circle, Eve Circle, Men's Breakfast, Annual camping trips, adult fellowship and intergenerational events make our congregation more than a group of individuals who gather on Sunday.
CtK is an active, healthy Christian community blessed by God our Father in many different ways.
Although CtK has much to offer, there are needs and issues that need to be addressed to carry us into the next generation. Most of these are associated with our physical structures and can be readily resolved.
· There are some structural issues with our current building and as good stewards we need to not only make it structurally sound but also improve its comfort and accessibility. The major concern in this area is the main entrance to the worship area. The doorway is rotted, when the doors are opened in the winter the cold goes directly into the worship area, storage is very limited and handicap accessibility is extremely limited.
· Space for fellowship is at a premium. Before and after worship services, the only feasible place for people to join in fellowship is the breezeway between the church and the administrative wing. Fellowship events outside worship frequently take place in the basement, which is not handicap accessible and is often overcrowded.
· We are in need of more educational space. During Sunday’s education hour, we currently have 140 young people and adults at CtK. To accommodate this number, one class meets in the breezeway between the administrative and educational wings, several classes meet in the basement’s common areas and on occasion, we have to use areas in the rear of the narthex while the choir rehearses in the balcony.
The parable of the Talents is intended to help us understand the need to use God’s gifts wisely. Over the past two years, ad-hoc Capital Improvements Committees have been working to discern the facility needs of the congregation. This task was broken into two parts. The Phase I committee met with the congregation, various groups within the church and conducted a survey. From this information they generated a report that identified the repairs and improvements for the facility. The Phase II committee was then formed to propose a facility that would help us to achieve our mission, vision and call throughout the next decade. This committee used the Phase I report as a baseline, met with groups within the church for additional input and developed a list of building issues and capital improvement objectives. With this information in hand, Paul Douglas Minor, an architect with much experience in church renovations, was hired to help formalize the plans and costs. A Prayer Group was also formed with the “call to prayer for discernment of God’s will in regards to the capital improvement program.” On November 10, 2002, a special congregational meeting was held to review the results of these efforts. This meeting affirmed the capital improvement plan as the baseline for building efforts and kicked off efforts to determine funding. On February 20, 2003, at the annual congregational meeting authorization was received to implement the initial phase of the plan and implement fund raising.
WITH GOD’S HELP, WE CAN ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS
Be Strong and Courageous and get to work. For the Lord my God is with you. He will not forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly. (1 Chronicles 28:20)
These were the words of advice given to Solomon from his father David before Solomon began the building of the great temple in Jerusalem to house the Ark of the Covenant. What a daunting task that must have seemed to Solomon! All we want to do is improve the front entrance and add some fellowship and educational space, and to many of us this task seems just as formidable. To make the project more manageable, we have segregated it into three separate elements as noted below. The table below also shows the costs and general work scope of each segment. While there are some overlaps between the segments, it is our intent to be able to manage each of these segments in such a way as to get the most out of each phase. Currently, the Congregation has only authorized the Building Committee to proceed with the Front Door segment of this capital plan. The Breezeway and Education Wing segments of this plan will be discussed at the annual Congregational meeting in June 2003.
Front Door($175,500) |
Breezeway($185,000+$41,600)
|
Education Wing($254,500) |
|
Ü Extend Entrance Ü Enclose steps Ü Install handicap lift Ü Create airlock for worship area
|
Ü Enlarge upstairs fellowship room Ü Create upstairs sacristy Ü Expand existing kitchen Ü Install handicap lift to basement |
Ü Add six classrooms Ü Add restroom facilities Ü Install handicap lift to second floor |
Benefits:
Ü Provides an inviting and welcoming environment which is accessible to all
Ü Provides more space to support the growth of our congregation and our mission
Ü Addresses maintenance problems
MORE THAN BRICKS AND MORTAR: THIS IS A JOYFUL, RENEWING OPPORTUNITY
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. (Matthew7: 24-27)
This capital campaign is about more than just the bricks and mortar. While these improvements in our physical structures are important to our ability to carryout the commission that our Lord Jesus gave to us in Matthew, it is through joyful, meaningful giving in response to the Lord’s Grace and love for us that our faith grows. This form of giving also demonstrates what is truly important in our lives. We think this plan is challenging but doable. It is flexible enough to address issues and concerns as they develop, and it is something that will help CtK grow both from a Stewardship as well as a physical structure basis.
We need to always remember that we are called to give joyfully and with thanksgiving. As Christians our ability to give is limited only by our capacity to trust in the Lord. As our Risen Lord has commanded, let us go forth together and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He has commanded for He surely will be with us to the end of the ages.