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Doing good and sharing what we have gladdens the heart of God. By participating in Week of Compassion, you can experience the joy of showing and sharing God’s love - offering a hand to that stranger in need, and making a difference in the lives of God’s children here at home and around the world. For more information on how Week of Compassion is sharing resources and changing lives, please visit their web site at www.weekofcompassion.org .

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The launch of another NACC sponsored Habitat home started February 9. It is being built in partnership with Drury University and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church. Lots of help will be needed, so anyone interested in helping with this project should contact Rick Jakeman at 873-7809 or his email address: rjakeman@drury.edu .

Interim Steering Committee Report

At the conclusion of my last article, we asked people for suggestions on how to start the conversation about the unspoken "elephants" at our church and how the church will move ahead during this interim ministry. A few people chose to enter into the conversation. Some of the responses were very public, others were more discreet. Some of the responses were complimentary of the work of the Interim Steering Committee, some were less so.

We are grateful to everyone who was willing to share their thoughts. It is the only way to move forward. We hope others continue to communicate with members of the ISC either through conversation, letters, or emails. Maybe it is most important for those who feel at odds with what the church is doing to speak up. This is not a hostile takeover; we are a church, a church going through a time of healing and planning – through an intentional interim ministry. This is a phrase whose exact meaning and purpose Herb is going to address in next week’s Ave-News.

At this last meeting, we did continue to talk about "elephants" and we even started identifying some of them. We also did what is known as a SWOT analysis of our process, which identifies Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Through doing this, we had a productive conversation about where our church is going and what is holding us back. Here is a list of what we discussed:

Strengths - our dedicated, strong, and supportive congregation; the honesty that’s

starting to exist, and a desire to have truth

Weaknesses - there are still too many secrets, we’re not considering the needs of others

enough, and there is still a lack of knowledge about our recent history

Opportunities - new leadership, a stronger church, a strengthened faith, greater

openness, and more meaningful mission

Threats - members are losing their spark, loss of members, budget crunching, and too

many rumors

I’m often asked about the topics and content of our meetings. Our focus is National Avenue Christian Church and although our former pastor’s name does sometimes come up, our church is much more than any one person. Our most energized conversations come when we talk about our love for this church and our hopes for the future. When we were discussing our ideas from the SWOT analysis, we kept coming back to the idea that our members need to feel inspired during this time of interim ministry.

NACC has a rich history of outreach and social justice work. Much of this work is still going on, but isn’t being talked about as loudly as it once was. We need to connect people into these mission efforts, like our weekly work for Crosslines, or the Drury Habitat for Humanity house for which we helped raise funds, or the frequent trips to Pearlington, MS to help rebuild the hurricane-ravaged gulf coast. We need to have study occasions and conversations about justice making and social concerns. Living out our faith through mission and hearing more about these opportunities will keep inspiration flowing through our church.

We also need to continue our opportunities for spiritual growth and fellowship. Our greatest strength is loving God and each other and loving this church and its mission. It is what has kept so many of us coming through the doors each and every week over this past sixty years. We need to continue to love each other and take care of each other.

Although there are weaknesses and threats, our strengths and opportunities are stronger. Our strengths have the upper hand and our opportunities have momentum. Please help us to continue the conversation about our church.                    Jennifer Klein

If you would like to spend one night per week on a fun, noncompetitive softball team, WE WANT YOU! Please contact David or Elaina Whitson for more information at 889-2724.

CWF Bake Sale in Fellowship Hall

Ernestine Smalley joined us on February 10, transferring from First & Calvary Presbyterian Church. She lives at

1720-B S. Kentwood, 65804 (882-3654). Ernestine has been a long-time regular visitor to NACC.

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