28 January 2022

Good day to each of you!

It is Friday as I write this. For many, Friday represents the end of the week, the final step to the weekend and a break from the rigors of the routines of life. This might include school routines, work routines, meeting routines, or appointment routines. It may include other processes or scheduled functions. These are the things we do on the set calendar of weekdays- things and functions that get us to the weekend. I used to live like that. But now, Friday is the launch of the weekend. It is the day where everything has to be put in place, final plans set, sermon printed for the final time, media in the sanctuary computer, sound system tested, and working with our team to ensure that everything is in place for the focus day of my week, and that is Sunday! And I love Sundays!

Studying the book of Isaiah has challenged me as to what my focus is in life. In the past, it was the stuff of my life, the focus was primarily on the duties contained in the Monday through Friday calendar blocks. The weekend, which included Sunday, were my days off – days where I could simply do some chores around the house, engage in my favorite hobbies or past times, and, if time allowed, even check out what was happening at the church on Sunday morning. I would often hope that if I did attend church there would be good music that I liked and that the sermon would at least have some element of entertainment to it. (An Isaiah message series would have ensured that I had some extra personal time that weekend!). I will confess, there were many times when I drove home thinking, it would have been a good Sunday to miss; was not as relaxing or entertaining as I had hoped.

I fear that in our world, the thoughts that I used to have may not be that unusual. Church does not get the same focus in our lives as our weekly routines. Monday through Friday get our best energy and effort- our focus on accomplishment. By the time we get through Friday, we are ready for some “me time.” And this is understandable. After all, for several days in a row, we have gotten out of bed a few hours before we need to be at work so that we can be sure that we are ready and on time. Many times we spend some time reviewing notes for a meeting or spending some extra time in preparation for tasks that needs to be accomplished; we want to be sure that our mind is ready to ensure the best possible results. These things are of tremendous importance to us, and our way of life- and get the best of our efforts. We want to maximize the returns of the work we put in.

By the time Sunday gets here, the struggle to go to church seems to rob us of the time off that we need. This is life. And like it or not, it is a reflection of the priorities within our life. When I read Isaiah, I see Isaiah’s concern for the people of Jerusalem and Judah in myself. Maybe I haven’t “turned my back on God,” but I also haven’t made Him the focus of my life, the desire of my energy, the object of my worship. Our studies this week end with a question and response that occurs between the Lord and Isaiah, and it frames one of my favorite scriptural passages and is the basis for my favorite Hymn:

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8, NIV)

Now, as Yorkshirians, I know that I can celebrate with all of you that the sentiments I’ve discussed up to this point are all in our past, and that Sunday morning worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ is something that we focus and prepare for all week, even amidst our other responsibilities. It is also a blessing to know that at our church, folks not only look forward to the hour of “worship,” but the hour or Sunday School and the time that they spend serving one another as teachers, greeters, communion helpers, media center team members, ushers and money counters. What a blessing it is to serve God in this manner! What a blessing to have such opportunities to look forward to during the week while we are inundated with far less exciting activities such as meetings, appointments, schedules, and other requirements. We are a blessed people!

With that said, we have some opportunities that you can look forward to and put on your calendars as blessings. We are in dire need of people to serve our church in the media center, both on the media and the sound side.
We have a great team, but they are feeling guilty that they are dominating all of the service opportunities. Many of them are serving every Sunday and would love to allow others the chance to serve at least one Sunday a month. No experience needed, just a desire to serve!

Another area of opportunity is in the area of our greeting ministry. This is where we greet our folks, and also be present to receive and welcome the gift to our church of first-time visitors. God has been so good to us and these opportunities to respond are simply additional blessings that He is affording us as His church.

If you are being called to serve in any of these ways, or any others, please let me know, or simply call the office and let us know. We will help you to get plugged in to whichever opportunity that God is presenting to you!

I want to squeeze in some financial information for you. Here are our 2021 Year End numbers which include the Joyful Noise Christian Preschool ministry. If you would like more detailed reports, please let me know and I will send them to you. I will share our 2022 budget in our next What’s Brewing.

Income/Offerings: Expenses: Balance:

Money spent on Repairs & Improvements: Money needed from our Savings:

2021 Actual

$ 430,704 416,238

$ 14,466 (Pos Working Capital)

$ 29,485 ($ 15,019)

What you see is that our regular weekly giving income was able to cover our bills
and expenses as our Finance Team is effectively managing our resources. The church has required significant repair and maintenance this past year for which we needed to utilize our savings resources to help pay for. We are blessed to have these resources, but as you can see, we also have to ensure that we use great discernment in how we employ them. Your gifts and generosity allow us to do the things we are doing, and we look forward to some really great things in 2022! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Have a great and blessed week! And don’t forget about the opportunities to serve that are available! Blessings all around!

-pastor dave.

dkominsky@susumc.org

125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org

14 January 2022 Greetings Yorkshire!

Well, we made it to Friday! It has been a great week. It has been a great week of meetings. Every night. When I look back on this week, I would not change a thing. I would not have wanted it to be any other way. Now, some of you may suggest this is an area where I need help in my life, others may suggest that I simply need a life, others may just say, “that’s not life.” But I say “au contraire!” I see

meetings as an opportunity for fellowship. I see meetings as an opportunity to get to know many of you and learn that you’re not just a face in a pew. I appreciate the dialog, the interaction, the sharing of ideas, the benefit of each of your experiences, and I enjoy the laughter and the joy that occurs. This week, I had four nights of that, and to me, that is life. That makes for a great week. And although this was a particularly busy week for many, it is not the pace of every week.

The first meeting that I enjoyed this week was the Finance Team meeting. Next week, we will share our 2021 financial numbers with you and I am certain you will be pleased with the work of this team. I want to share one item in particular that we spoke about, and that is our natural gas bill. In 2021, we spent $4,862.00 for the natural gas that we utilize. Now, a little over a year ago, we installed a new boiler system, funded by a fundraising drive which raised about $32,000.00. Your generosity was incredible in this endeavor. So, what did you get for this investment? Previous to the new boiler initiative, Yorkshire Church paid an average of $12,000.00 per year for natural gas. This year, under $5,000.00. That is a 60% savings! That investment will pay itself off in only a few years, and our Trustee team believes that through our upcoming renovations and some other adjustments, the system will operate even more efficiently. So thank you Yorkshire for your support of the Boiler Campaign and thank you to Steve Spangler and the Trustees for guiding our church in very positive ways. Thank you to team Finance that helps us to be able to invest wisely and properly in our church infrastructure needs and share with us the results of the gifts that we give!

We also held a Hospitality Team meeting. This included our Greeters and Ushers and we discussed how we greet those who come through our doors each Sunday morning. Seems simple enough to simply say hello, but we want to ensure that we have a coordinated effort to greet each person that worships at Yorkshire in a manner that makes them feel welcome. Of course, the emphasis of our discussion is on first time visitors. Going to a new church can be frightening. What lies beyond the front doors of a church can be a great mystery and sometimes intimidating. Where will I go once I enter? Where are the restrooms? Will they make me stand up and introduce myself? Will I have to fill out a card and divulge all my information? Will I know what to do? Would if they recite prayers and liturgies that I don’t know? What about my kids? Are there places that I can sit that will accommodate my wheelchair, or my rollator?

These are the topics that we discussed at this meeting as well as the logistics of opening doors, security, and the lobby (or narthex) environment. This was a great time of fellowship with about a dozen of our church fellowship. Yes, it was a meeting, but we were speaking about things that are important to each of us and

important to our church. The sharing of ideas will bring great benefit to how we can intentionally make our fellowship participants feel welcome and make our church an easy and friendly one to navigate. We would love to have, and need more of our fellowship involved in this process.

While the focus was primarily on how we provide support to first-time visitors and those who may still considerthemselves “new,” another point was brought to my attention after the meeting. It is of utmost importance for us to also be cognizant of every person in our fellowship. As we are in a growth mode, Sundays are not only a time for worship and personal interaction– it is the execution of the plans to conduct worship, Sunday School, on-the-fly repairs, find our children, be found by our children, adjust the heat, fix a microphone, unclog a toilet, or find out why the livestream cut off mid-service. It can be answering questions for new folks, or addressing some situation with our not-so-new folks. And this is important, but it also results in our taking our eyes off of what is most important, and that is each other.

What I enjoy most about Sunday mornings is the same thing I enjoy about a week of meetings, and that is fellowship with each of you. On the list above, none of those things come close to a personal time of interaction with you. When I get home, I don’t share with Holly about how much I enjoyed troubleshooting some technical glitch, but I do speak about how much I enjoyed discussions that I had that morning. And I recognize that most of your commentaries when you get home are not about some technical aspect of the message or a harmony of one of the songs or hymns that was sung. What you reflect on and remember is the joy of the fellowship that you shared that morning. As a fellowship, this is a need of each person and our challenge is to ensure that we keep our priorities focused on the personal element of who we are, and not the procedural elements of what we do.

With that said, we need to recognize there are things that need to be accomplished in order to carry out our worship services. And this is why meetings are of great value. It is an additional opportunity to meet with one another, share with one another, catch up with one another. Being involved in the activities of the church not only help the church, but it also provides benefit to each of us individually in being a part of something larger than ourselves- with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And it is in the voice of the church that we can share new ideas, benefit from your experience, grow as a collective effort, and enjoy our interactions with one another in addition to the hour or so on Sunday morning! If you would like to be a part of one or more of our teams, please let me know. You are important. If you would like to speak with me or spend some time in discussion, let me know, I will make myself available. It is in our interaction that I find my deepest joy – it just may need to be after the services or on another day of the week that meets your schedule.

There is so much more I could write about this great week, but I am out of space. (I could say the same thing about my sermons each week!). But I thank each of you for making this week the blessing that it was. Yes, we had some challenging moments, mysterious comma’s, early mornings and late evenings, but I give thanks to God for allowing me to be a part of this fellowship. Be blessed Yorkshire!

Have a great week! -pastor dave.

dkominsky@susumc.org

125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org