Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us
–Psalm 90:17
Sun City Christian Church is excited beyond measure to receive a Congregational Vitality Grant from our region. Every year the budget is tight, and we must focus on paying staff and tending to the building and so the pot is always bare when it comes to funding energized and life-giving ministry.
Because our Regional Church believes in our bright ideas, we have been granted $30,000. We are able to build upon our Disciple Women Service Projects, improve campus signage as well start new Wellness, and Storytelling Ministries. We can’t wait to serve God and our community as we begin our next 50 years of vital ministry!
I thought you might be interested to learn more about what is in store in the year ahead. Here is the explanation we presented with grant request:
Sun City Christian Church (DOC) is living into our action plan “Serving God and Community.” We have been making strides as a congregation to serve in ways that allow our passions, interests, and skills to meet the needs of our congregation and community. This year, new ministry teams have formed and established ministries have claimed a revived purpose.
The regional vitality grant will provide an amazing financial foundation for us to build upon as none of these requests are currently sustained by our operational budget but will be evaluated and supported as needed by each team bringing the request as we grow into our future.
Wellness Ministry
We are fortunate to have several members whose career was in the healthcare field who have formed our team. An overarching goal is to help our congregation understand that health and wellness relates to one’s Spiritual wellbeing. Providing resources and helping people become advocates for their medical care and wellness was a motivating factor in developing an educational series of lectures and gatherings.
Another goal is to build relationships between participants that help alleviate isolation and loneliness, as well as to develop trusting relationships with the health and wellness team. In addition, we seek to encourage members to remain active, better understand the aging process, learn about community resources, smoothly navigate the medical system, and become more comfortable talking about matters of faith through the aging process.
We will begin offering education sessions in September 2024 and will run them over the course of at least 10 months, collaborating with qualified internal and community professionals. Some subjects will require more than a single session to focus on the topic discussed. We expect to have approximately fity individuals (half congregates, half area church partners and the community) attending each event, but with advertising and word of mouth by our attendees, we expect numbers to grow.
Topics we plan to address through this first series of educational sessions: Aging and agism/Dementia, navigating the healthcare system, end of life issues, osteoporosis, falls, and fractures, footcare/podiatry, medication, nutrition, visual and hearing impairments, how to choose a Medicare supplemental plan, keeping important medical and legal information, medical fraud, waste and abuse.
We now have qualified and passionate individuals in our congregation to re-establish a Parish Ministry program. It is important that we be prepared with appropriate equipment and supplies for first aid as well as medical emergencies. We are pursuing other grants to obtain an automated external defibrillator. Exercise is important to the health and wellness of our seniors.
These sessions will augment the informational sessions to support an active and healthier congregation and community. Our program, based on participant needs and desires, could include Tai Chi, chair yoga, walking programs, aerobics, Pilates, and strength and balance training led by expert instructors. In subsequent years we anticipate paying our professionals through budget funds and small fees from participants.
Digital Storytelling Ministry
A handful of passionate individuals have emerged with a desire to utilize digital media to share our story. Not only will we stream weekly worship experiences on YouTube but we will create a video collection of stories about Sun City Christian Church’s ministry and the individuals who belong here. In addition to a bolstered YouTube library, the church will build a catalog of recorded stories for all willing participants in our faith community. These recordings can then be used in Sunday Morning worship, in celebration of birthdays, utilized in memorial services, and passed along to family members in remembrance. How we wish to be remembered can be captured on video and remain a living archive of Sun City Christian Church. The items requested from the team will aid in the production and quality of our streaming and recording.
Disciple Women Service Projects
Disciple Women’s Ministry (DWF) at SCCC has a long history of outreach to fulfil the ongoing needs of local serving those in need in the community. This past year the group produced lap quilts, Foley bag covers, numerous teddy bears, fidget mats and fidget sleeves. To continue to meet these needs and decrease the financial burden on a few members currently supporting the service projects, additional equipment and supplies are needed. Many of the donations received by the group in the past are older and already worn out. Group needs include cutting mats, Scissors, rotary blades, print fabric for quilts, solid fabrics for quilt backings, batting for quilts, stuffing for bears, embroidery sewing Machine to print church logo on quilts and shirts, work lights, and other misc. supplies. In addition to the monthly meetings, workdays, and Lunch Bunch outings, we have shared workspace with the “Caring Angels” group that makes plarn out of grocery bags. Several times a month we engage all members to assist with DWF or outreach projects during Sunday fellowship time. These activities help to combat alleviate isolation and loneliness among our members as well as include them in the outreach mission.
Campus Signage and Promotion
We are blessed with a fantastic building from which to do ministry. One thing area we need to improve upon is with signage and captures the community’s attention as well as offering proper directions as to where to park and go once they arrive. An immediate need arose recently when one half of our dual digital projection sign on the corner of our property fell over. The repair professionals have identified a way to reattach it to the original base that has lived on the corner of our property since the late 70’s and to return it to operation. The additional request will be for direction signs in the parking lot and to identify door entrances. A banner identifying Sun City Christian Church will hang below the bell tower and our new church logo and branding will adorn it and the sign on the corner.