What’s Brewing, September 17, 2021
17 September 2021
Good day Yorkshire!
Well, Rally Day has come and gone, and what a success it was! I am so thankful to have been a part of the festivities of the day and interacting with so many of our fellowship, scouts, preschool families, and so many neighbors from our community. I just want to again extend my thanks and gratitude to the team that made this happen at Yorkshire- it was certainly an effort of the masses! I could go on and on about it, but it was truly a special day.
How about our Women’s Bible Study on Monday evening! Nineteen women gathered together to share in fellowship as they are working through a study called Anxious, Fighting Anxiety with the Word of God by Scarlet Hiltibidal. I know that I can speak from Holly’s perspective that this was an incredible evening of sharing and prayer! They outgrew the room that they were meeting in before they even met! So, as a result, the staff of the church tackled the challenge and we will be resetting Rooms 201 & 203 prior to our weekly studies to accommodate larger groups while the fellowship hall is being repaired. This room is large enough to accommodate up to 30 people very comfortably. This will also accommodate our Men’s Fellowship on Wednesdays during both the 6AM and 6PM studies.
The Men’s Fellowship had a great time at the York Revolution Stadium on Wednesday evening! Thanks to Doug Berman for organizing this great outing and hosting us in a Skybox for what was a very good game. It was a time of simple fellowship and breaking of bread (well, actually meatballs, chicken fingers, hot dogs, cheese steaks, and moz-sticks and soft pretzels). It was nice to be able to grow in our relationships with one another as a group of Christian men. I am looking forward to starting our studies on Wednesday, Sep 22nd on the sixes which will be David Platt’s, Something Needs to Change, which is a video-based series built around an 8-day journey in the Himalayan Mountains. It is a challenging but compelling study.
We are now into our Fall season in the life of the church and with this brings administrative processes that we must undertake such as beginning the process of leadership selection for next year. In the next few weeks, the Nominations and Leadership team will be speaking with our current leadership team as well as recruiting members from our fellowship to serve in various roles. In most churches, this is a well-known process of begging and arm-twisting, but I see this as an opportunity to work with our leaders as well as those who are feeling a calling to lead within the church. I believe that a church that has leaders with a passion to serve will thrive.
This past year, our leadership team has begun to consider each of the administrative roles as a ministry, not a position. For example, Rick Focht is not just holding the Education Team Chair position, he is leading the ministry of education at Yorkshire. His gifts, insights, discernment and leadership of those who serve as part of
this valuable team is a critical part of how we are able to support the body of the church. Doug Berman and Justin Mann, who serve as our Finance Team leaders (Chair and Treasurer) do not simply hold positions, but they lead the ministry of supporting the processes that allow us to have a facility to worship in, have the resources to provide for the needs of the Education Team for example, as well as ensuring that the church has the means to carry out the missions that it is called to serve. Their talents, gifts, and leadership are critical elements of how God can use us as we seek to grow in our relationship with God and carry out the commissions of Jesus Christ. Of course, this carries through all of our leadership positions, Missions, Trustees, Nominations and Leadership, etc. If you are feeling a calling to serve as a leader in the church, please let me know or communicate your interest to Alison in the church office. We have some new areas that we would like to grow into as well as some existing vacancies –we will be in touch!
A quick update on the Fellowship Hall repairs. We have now received quotes from several contractors to get the work started. The insurance claim has been approved and is being processed. This will provide us $25,000.00 toward the work which is necessary to not only clean up the fellowship hall, but to repair the cause of the issues that we have been experiencing. We know that this will cover less than half of what we will need to invest, but our Trustees and Finance teams are doing an incredible job assessing the situation and strategizing how we will accomplish the financing of the project. The scope of the work includes new rain gutters, ground water drainage assessment and remediation, sump pump improvements/replacements, wall repairs and painting, new flooring in the fellowship hall, stage removal (black mold/mildew), removal of four large trees in front yard (fungal root disease-trees dead and/or dying causing year round leaf dropping clogging outdoor drains), and the expense of removing the black mold infested materials from the fellowship hall (years of flooding and moisture). So, again I must extend special thanks of appreciation to the efforts of Steve Spangler and Josh Strange in managing this process!
As usual, there is a lot going on at Yorkshire Church and I can’t begin to thank our leadership and our teams enough for all that they are doing. Next week I will share our finances through the end of August and we will again celebrate our thanks for everything that all of you are doing through your generosity to our fellowship. We remain financially stable and are able to manage our finances in ways that allow us to carry out the missions and tasks of the church, but also to be able to take care of our facility and property, as well. God is doing incredible things here through each of you, using each of your gifts in unique ways to further His Kingdom here in York County and the places He is calling us to serve!
Have a great and blessed day!
Peace and blessings, -pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
When the world is living in the darkness of fear, it is an opportunity for God’s Church to shine His light.
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
- Published in What's Brewing
What’s Brewing, September 10, 2021
10 September 2021 Good Day Yorkshire!
I am looking forward to this Sunday (12 Sep) and our Rally Day celebration. A reminder to everyone is that we only have one worship service at 10AM. This allows both services to combine and enjoy fellowship with one another. Following the service will be our outdoor Rally Day festivities. This will include the “official” ribbon cutting of our new preschool playground. The Joyful Noise children had opportunities this past week to check it out and we received rave reviews from them! I asked one little girl in the 4-year-old class how she liked the new playground. Her answer was, “I really liked it. There was a see-saw in there and I see-sawed, and see-sawed, and there was another see-saw in there, too. But I just see-sawed and see-sawed on the same one.” And then she jumped up in the air. I took that as a positive!
There will be games, a bounce house, a dunk tank, as well as great music performed by Steven Courtney at 11:15 and then Steven Courtney and His Band of Friends at 1PM. And, of course food trucks! Our preschool families, scouting groups and community have all been invited so we will have a great opportunity for fellowship with many who have a connection to Yorkshire Church!
The fellowship resulting from the festivities of Rally Day provide an important aspect of the church. In the Old Testament, festivals were held for all sorts of things, but were always done to commemorate the start or the completion of an event or time period (i.e.: the harvest). For Yorkshire, Rally Day is a kick-off and celebration of our new season of learning. It is a time where we prepare to begin and commit to Christian Education, or what we call Sunday School. The education team has been working to layout a new schedule and system of learning where instead of simply having Sunday School groups, we have a curriculum-based education program that allows our folks to find classes and content that meets their particular needs and interests for where they are on their faith journey. In theory, as our programs mature, we will have an education path for those who are new to their faith or interested in the basics of the Bible. We will also have a path for those that would like to dig deeper into the Word. We will have classes that involve open discussion forums as well as classes that will be lecture type learning opportunities. Beginning on Sunday, the 19th, we will be offering four adult Sunday School offerings, a Youth class, and two children’s classes. You can see a description of each class in the announcements. It is our hope that as the content of the class changes, that you will try different classes and different teachers which will also help us get to know a wider variety of our fellowship through the learning process.
In addition to Sunday School programming, the Women’s and Men’s fellowship groups will be starting new studies. The women’s group will be studying Scarlet Hiltibidal’s study entitled “Anxious”. To say that we live in anxious times might be a huge understatement. I am excited to see how this study not only provides great content, but more importantly an opportunity for our women to fellowship together with one another. The women’s group meets Monday nights at 6:30 beginning this Monday, September 13th.
The men’s fellowship will be studying David Platt’s “Something Needs to Change,” which is a challenge to us as to how we might make a difference, and why we should. The study is done in a video format using amazing cinematography of a trip through the Himalayas. As Christians, we are called to action. This study won’t tell
us what we should do, but will strive to open our hearts and bring us together as we begin to understand how God may use us to make a difference in the world. This group meets Wednesdays on the sixes- 6AM and 6PM, beginning on September 22nd. This is also a great opportunity for the fellowship of our men. We grow stronger together.
Now is a time for the church to grow stronger. I don’t need to get into just how weird the world is getting. I am not going to do a sermon series on end times or the prospect of them being today, tomorrow or even in a thousand years- that is God’s call. But we are certainly seeing a divisive energy permeating just about all aspects of our life. We are experiencing limitations and restrictions on our activities unlike anything that we have seen in our lifetime before. My focus and word to the church is not about which element of what you are hearing may actually be based on truth. What troubles me is the apparent lack of objective truth in what we are hearing. I am not going to tell anyone what they should or should not believe as to what comes across our media and news cycles. What I may have believed a few weeks ago is now different than what was presented yesterday and will probably be different again tomorrow. The only consistent in our world today is inconsistency. It is, quite frankly, difficult to know what to trust.
We, as Christians, are called upon in times like this to represent what we know as absolute truth, and that is the Truth of Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we have studied the lives of many of those in the early church, John, Peter, Stephen, Philip, and Paul, we don’t see them out speaking about the issues of the day or the differences that they had with the government. I am sure in their own circles, they vented out frustrations with one another, but when it came time to witness, their emphasis was on Jesus and the Kingdom of God. They knew the scriptures and they shared what they knew. They understood who they were talking to, were creative in their approach, and were persistent to those who showed an interest. They lived with a faith in God, and not faith in the world.
If we want to have faith in the Word, we need to be in the Word. It may not be in memorizing scripture passages in in being able to recite the books of the Bible, but simply in gaining an understanding of the Biblical story of Jesus Christ. This is why I feel the element of Christian Education in the church is of critical importance.
In regards to our time in fellowship, we will continue to leave the choice of wearing masks up to each person and respecting one another for their decision. Some feel more comfortable wearing masks and some would prefer not to. In each case, we honor each other through our love for one another. We are all in this together. As far as Pastor Megan and I, we appreciate each of you that enjoys a good handshake or a hug and these are the things that make our relationship special. But, because we interact with over 100 people on Sunday mornings alone, we feel that it is best if our affections are shared from a moderate distance. Please do not view this as our disinterest in this type of interaction. Its just a simple way for us to honor and respect each person that we interact with and support their concerns as we navigate these times. Yes, we want to share and speak with everyone and we will. We just ask you to understand that the fact that we are not reaching out to shake hands or hug is not a lack of our desire to do so! We can’t wait to return to a day where such gestures are the norm! These are challenging times in which we live. “When you surrender your life to God, fear’s grip over you begins to fade.” -Denzel Washington.
When the world is living in the darkness of fear, it is an opportunity for God’s Church to shine His light.
Peace and blessings, -pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
- Published in What's Brewing
What’s Brewing, September 2, 2021
2 September 2021 Greetings and Happy September!
It has been a few weeks since our last What’s Brewing and there is a great deal to catch up on! It is certainly a
busy time at Yorkshire Church.
It is great to see our choir together again! They had their first practice last Thursday evening in the Sanctuary and a great time of fellowship was enjoyed by all. Jackie Linsey and Beth Gross are filling both the directing and accompanying role to get things going as we continue to look for the right folks to fill our music department positions. The choir will practice every Thursday night from 6:30-7:30 with their first performance to be on Sunday, September 19th at the second service. If you would like to sing in the choir, all are welcome. As a note, the choir will be practicing in the sanctuary and performances will be done from the floor of the sanctuary to eliminate any need to navigate steps in order to participate. Robes will not be worn so there will be no need to go down stairs to prepare for Sunday worship. We just want to be sure that all that would like to share in this ministry and fellowship time are able to do so! This is exciting news!
I am also looking forward to Rally Day which will be held next Sunday, September 12th. We will have one service at 10AM which will follow the first service format as both organists will be enjoying some time off. Then the Rally Day festivities begin at 11:00AM which will include an official opening of our new Preschool playground that was completed as an Eagle Scout project. Our local Representative Keith Gillespie will be on hand to help us cut the ribbon! Steven Courtney and his band will be bringing great family entertainment with performances at 11:15 and 1PM. Bring your appetites as there will be food trucks on site with plenty of food and desserts! And, if that is not enough, you can also enjoy activities such as a bounce house, games, and even a dunk tank. I am so thankful and appreciative for the work and effort that Rick Focht and his team have put into the planning for this event to celebrate the kickoff of our new Sunday School programs and provide a wonderful community event to our church fellowship and our community neighbors! See you there!
A few weeks ago, we needed some additional support from the church to help empty the office next to Alison’s office so that it could be converted into an office for the preschool which now has a staff of five. A call was put out to the church for volunteers and what a great turnout we had! Over 20 folks showed up at 8AM on a Saturday morning which allowed us to complete the project in under an hour! Thanks to the team shown below for this incredible effort. I might even suggest that a great time was had by all!
(Suzanne Robertson is hiding behind Tiffany Ivie!)
In other news, our recent weather has provided us with some significant challenges in our facility. As of yesterday, our fellowship hall has now flooded three times since the writing of the last What’s Brewing (Aug 12th). The first one was a relatively small event with small puddles in front of the stage and left front wall. But the next event brought wall-to-wall water and the element of mud into the room and Pastor Megan’s office. Due to the extent of the damage, we filed a claim with our insurance company and a restoration company was hired to dry out the rooms, which included the removal of a significant amount of water from not only the rooms, but under the stage. Part of the walls were removed as they were damaged and a significant amount of black mold was discovered. As of this writing, the entire floor will need to be replaced because outside ground water comes with various bacterial elements, causing much of the floor to delaminate. It is apparent that flooding in the fellowship hall is not a new occurrence. But this has rendered our fellowship hall out of commission until the work is completed.
Steve Spangler and Josh Strange have been working hard to identify root causes for our flooding issues. Window wells have been evaluated, drains cleared and cleaned out, and contractors have been brought in to assess and quote on reparations. But this week brought a visit from Ida. And we flooded again. Although rods and staffs were raised and arms were spread, we could not stop nor part the waters around the church. But we were able to witness first hand the avenues of approach that the water was using to come into our facility. It gave us first hand validation that we have some significant issues with water drainage from the outside of our facility. Just as new doors have eliminated the entry of our long-tailed furry friends, we will do what it takes to eliminate the entry of unwanted water into our facility.
Through this process, we have discovered that our rain gutters need attention and replacing, our outside drainage is not working properly and our open-deep seated window wells are a concern. We have also identified that our window well drains are constantly being blocked by Oak leaves. Why do we have so many leaves falling in summer? Well, inspection of this issue has revealed that all of our large Oak Trees on the Edgewood Road side of our building are either dead or dying. This is further validated by continuously falling branches, some requiring two people to remove due to their weight. There is a great deal more that I could report on with these events, but I think you get the gist of what is happening here. There will be a great deal of work going on to address all of these issues and eliminate the water problems in our fellowship hall as best as we can. The good news is that we have insurance to address a part of these expenses but that only covers the damage created by the flooding, not the repairs to correct the issues. I will report the expenses as we receive quotations on the necessary work and I am confident in the leadership that we have leading the efforts- Steve Spangler and Josh Strange who will be working closely with our Finance Team leadership Doug Berman and Justin Mann.
Let’s close with some exciting news. Before I write my next What’s Brewing, the Joyful Noise Christian Preschool children will again be filling our halls with joyful noise! About 30 children will benefit from the ministry that our JNCP teachers and staff provide. Each and every day, Christ will be proclaimed in an uplifting and nurturing way to the children of our community. Your prayers and support have made this possibility a reality.
Next week I look forward to sharing some great things that are happening in our ministries, Sunday School programs, and our missional outreach! I am thankful to be a part of the fellowship of Yorkshire Church! Peace and blessings to each of you this day!
-pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
- Published in What's Brewing
What’s Brewing, August 12, 2021
12 August 2021
Good Day and Greetings to Everyone!
Happy August. Today’s heat index is currently at 103 degrees! That’s hot no matter where you are from. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to be part of a meeting of Pastors at our District Superintendent, Cathy Boileau’s home. There were about 10 of us, so the meeting was held in her back yard, which has no trees. It was a great time of fellowship and discussion, but what we all found somewhat humorous is how we were all, literally, dripping with sweat by the end of the meeting. It was not just the heat, but the humidity- anyone seeing us leaving must have thought that we had just received a good working over by our boss! The truth is that Cathy is wonderful to work with and all of us feel blessed to have her as our DS.
Well, our new doors are installed at Yorkshire! Your response has been very positive! Our tailed friends not so much. The doors have met our expectations in every way. With some minor adjustments to our
original quote and the addition of some access technology, our final
price will come in around $22-24,000.00. Through the utilization of honorariums that the church has received over the years as well as many of your generous contributions, we have raised about $15,000 to offset our costs. At this point the difference will come out of church fund balances, which are available. But we still have much work to be done at Yorkshire Church. We have work that needs to be done outdoors. Often, during heavy rains, water continues to challenge our foundation, often flowing into our fellowship hall. And we have many improvements that we would like to make for access into our facility overall. Therefore, any additional donations or contributions that you would prayerfully like to make toward the final payment of our door upgrades would certainly be appreciated!
Yorkshire Church is financially healthy! We are able to pay our bills, shares of ministry, invest in ministry, repair and upgrade our facility, and begin to support various missional outreaches. Our finance team led by Doug Berman, Justin Mann, and Alison Sutherland are doing an amazing job. And they couldn’t do this without our dedicated team of money counters led by Charlie Hoffman; Frank Herron, Steve Coates, Don Reigart, Ginny Browne, Susan Herron, Janice Hoffman, Barb Blair, Jamie Strange, Dale Auchenbach, Rick and Tara Focht, Fran Lucash, Elke Yingling, and Diane Tutino. Thank you to all of these great folks!
Our finances through the end of July are posted below. If you have any questions about them, please feel free to contact me or Doug Berman. We will be happy to answer your questions or expand upon any numbers that you would like to know more about.
Yorkshire Financial Picture including Joyful Noise Christian Preschool: January 2021 thru July 31, 2021
Income: Expenses: Working Capital:
$247,874.00 226,245.00
$ 21,629.00 (Positive Working Capital)
What this picture demonstrates is that with the offerings and gifts received, minus the bills and expenses that we have to pay, we have a little over $21,000.00 positive cash flow. This does not include the payment for the doors, or the additional $20,000.00 in shares payments we need to make by the end of the year. But the projection of income and expenses between now and the end of year should be able to support those expenses adequately.
One of the things we do when we review our financial picture, is consider the trends that are being revealed so that we can plan future events, activities, and ministry investments in a manner that allows us to remain financially vital, or what we would call “solvent.” While all is very positive, the weekly trend of gifts and offerings that we have received has declined a bit since the beginning of the year. The average weekly receipts in July were about 20% less than the period January thru April. This is not a cause for concern or alarm as we may see that it represents a normal trend when you factor in vacations and other seasonal effects. But it does mean that we will continue to be vigilant in managing our operating expenses!
You may ask how we are able to invest in our facility and various activities based on our income vs. expense picture. Another factor is our cash on hand, or what we would call our General Operating Fund. This is what resides in our accessible accounts (checking/saving) to fund our church. Currently this fund contains enough money to finance our church operations for about four months with no additional income. It also provides buffers for months where our actual expenses exceed our weekly income. This has occurred in 3 different months this year (April, June, July). This is also normal as we can’t always control the timing of expenses and sometimes there is just something big that comes along that we decide to take care of right away. But this is why it is important to ensure that we maintain a proper balance of what is in our bank account and what we invest. We report this on what is called in the financial guru’s world, a Balance Sheet. And with all of what I have reported in this letter, our Balance Sheet has maintained a very solid picture- in other words, we’re balanced! That is why we also report the needs to offset investments such as the doors. The more that we can maintain the “balance,” the more we can plan to invest in ministry and the upkeep of our facility.
I just want to thank each and every one of you for your part in the ministry of Yorkshire Church. We are so blessed to be able to offer the ministries that we do in the various means that we do so. That would not be possible without you. Your prayers, gifts, ideas, inputs, and most of all, your presence are absolutely critical to us being able to be called Yorkshire Church- instead of simply the gathering at Yorkshire. Although today I reported some of the business elements that are involved in running a church in the 21st century, the reality of “being” a church is not contained in the numbers. It is contained in the immeasurable elements of your hearts. It is contained in the essence of our fellowship and the love that exists within it. The importance of “being” the church is far more critical than that of “running” the church. Both are important, yes, but we also must ensure that we keep our priorities in perspective. Thank you again for being Yorkshire Church! God Bless!
-pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
- Published in What's Brewing
What’s Brewing, August 5, 2021
5 August 2021
Greetings and Blessings!
It has been a week full of blessings since my last What’s Brewing letter. So, let’s just go through some of thehappenings.
The new doors have been installed and so far, your response has been very positive! There is still some work to be done as we are implementing electronic access technology. Instead of using a key to open the door, those
who formally had keys will have a “fob,” which unlocks the door by placing it next to a pad on the door. This gives us a very easy way to provide access to a broad array of folks and organizations and if the “key” (fob) is not returned after their access needs are met, we can electronically turn off the accessibility from that particular fob. From a security standpoint, it is a great improvement for the church- and no more trying to figure out where all of our keys are!
The Spoken concert on Friday night was a success in many ways. We had opportunities to fellowship with each other and friends. I was blessed to have a strong contingent from my former pastoral appointment, Red Lion Zion present. Many of our neighbors, upon hearing a strange sound emanating from our parking lot, proceeded forth to see what was the source of such music. We had some great conversations and many expressed an interest in either checking us out on Sunday, or for many, returning to worship at Yorkshire. This was not due to the music per se, but upon their witness of our fellowship. They could tell we were having fun together.
Some of the music was not necessarily what everyone tried to find on their car radio on the way home. The exception was our opening act, Corina Rose, who was certainly a blessing to everyone! Spoken plays a form of Christian rock that may be best considered heavy metal. But what fun we had experiencing this different genre
of music. In one conversation with Janice Hoffman and Gladys
a suggestion about adding some of Spoken’s music to the Choir
remember if it was them or me that made this recommendation?
suit the listening taste of all that were present, it did not keep us from enjoying the time together and we made new friends, and greeted old acquaintances throughout the evening. We received very positive support from our community neighbors.
Another event that began and concluded this past week was the youth group trip to Impact which I wrote about last week. The great news to report is that from all that I have heard, it was a tremendously successful week for them and life long memories were made as they experienced great worship times with hundreds of other youths. One student shared that one of the most powerful experiences that she enjoyed was the outdoor worship at night. “The stars were out and it was just very powerful!” You can hear much more about this great outing from Pastor Megan in the Announcements!
Achenbach, I seem to remember repertoire… I can’t seem to But although the music did not
On Tuesday, Julie Mann, our Joyful Noise Preschool Director and I participated in a seminar at Messiah University. The purpose of the training was to learn how employers can best reach college students as part of their recruiting process. We live in very different times and reaching college students with a compelling offer of employment is not only challenging, but highly competitive. Messiah did an incredible job in providing this information and we both learned a great deal and made some very useful contacts. But it also revealed that we have some work to do in providing an electronic/social media footprint that truly demonstrates who we are as a church, what our culture is, and what the environment here is like. We have to be visible to prospective employees and those that we wish to recruit in new ways. In the old days of recruiting, we would invite prospective employees into our facilities for an interview and a facility tour. But today, if we want them to even entertain a visit, they need to be able to do research on these things via various avenues of media.
Interestingly enough, we also learned something about this with our discussions with our neighbors on Friday night. Many folks have perceptions about Yorkshire Church. Some relate our culture as a church to experiences they had years ago when attending, or visiting. Many have a sense about who we are based on what they “heard” or had come to know about our culture and worship practices. Some had preconceived notions about us based on the formality of our church building. We have a very traditional red brick building with a very high spire which to some suggests a “high church” type experience. In most cases, the perceptions of us from the outside do not reveal who we are as a church and the reality of our wonderful fellowship. But, after interacting with many of you as well as witnessing our fellowship with one another during this outdoor event, several commented that they could tell that we were different than their previous perceptions- in a very positive way! Yorkshire, we are a warm, loving, and wonderful fellowship!
In other news, we had a Joyful Noise Preschool Board meeting on Tuesday evening. We are so blessed to have Barb Snare as our Board Chair! We are blessed to have a great board of directors. Joining Barb is Rick Focht who is the Vice-Chairperson, Tiffany Ivie who also serves as the Secretary, Lauri Mink, Suzanne Robertson, and our parent-board member, Brenna Seely. Preschool Director Julie Mann and I also serve as part of the Board. There has been so much activity regarding the preschool this summer! Julie has spent tireless hours recruiting, researching, repainting, remodeling, and restructuring just about every aspect of our wonderful school. Most of this is done on her own time. Her commitment and dedication to her calling serve as motivation and inspiration to me every day. The results of her efforts are easy to witness as soon as you enter the preschool wing of the church. As a result, we now have a staff of five serving the children of our community; two teachers, two teacher aids, and a director! Our enrollment is currently nineteen four-year old students and six 3-year-old students- and we are still growing! We will be converting what was known as the pastor’s office to an office that serves the needs of this dynamic team. This is great stuff and we can truly be proud of the leadership that we have in Joyful Noise Preschool!
Many other things are happening – the Eagle Scout project transforming the garden into the Preschool playground is nearing completion. We will be reconvening choir and other musical ministries. New Sunday School classes are in development which will double our Sunday morning curriculum offerings (more to come on this). Greetings and Hospitality programs are in development to serve our fellowship-both those that attend in person, and new ways to meet the needs of those that cannot. Our missions and outreach programs are continuing to develop. Next week, I will provide a report on our financial status through the first half of this year- and I can tell you that it is very positive- thank you, thank you, thank you!
Well, these are my ramblings for this week. Blessings to each of you! Have a great day! -pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
- Published in What's Brewing
What’s Brewing, July 28, 2021
28 July 2021
Greetings Yorkshirians!
This morning I had the incredible blessing to see many of our Youth off as they embarked for the “Impact” festival which is held over a five-day period at Camp Green Hills in Alexandria, PA.
“The Impact festival combines powerful praise and worship sessions, challenging breakout seminars, ambitious athletic and outdoor activities, life changing lessons from God’s Word with seven main stage gatherings, and a relational emphasis through group building and campfire settings.”
I only had a brief moment to pray with them as their departure time from Zion Church on Carlisle Avenue was at 8AM, and our 6AM Men’s Fellowship often extends until 7:30 with lingering participants continuing to share in fellowship with one another. But I was inspired by this van load of 13 youth, even in a short period of time. They are taking 5 days out of their summer to be in fellowship with one another and other Christians to focus on God’s Word. Oh, the power of fellowship! The blessing of relationships with other Christians! The joy of communal praise and worship as the body of Christ!
We can all experience a bit of joy in their activities this week. They are a part of our fellowship. They are the witness of Yorkshire Church, being strengthened in their faith through their relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We can celebrate with them as they will be enjoying praise, prayer and worship every day. We can meet them in prayer as we pray for them, which is our duty as a part of their church family. I challenge us to pray regularly for our youth and the children of our fellowship as a part of our prayer discipline on a daily basis!
As I watched Pastor Megan drive the white van with our youth out of sight on this morning, I thought how great it would be if someday there were two vans, or maybe even a bus of our youth. As the Impact-bound caravan of vehicles disappeared out of sight and I was standing alone in the parking lot of one of our sister churches, I became aware that my desire for this future goal of “more” was not aligned with any biblical or scriptural mandate, but more of an objective for success in growing our church- numerically. After all, activities are more fun with more kids.
Now, as Christians, we are to make disciples of Jesus Christ, and this would arguably mean “more” disciples of Jesus Christ than what exists today. So, growth in and of itself, is certainly a biblical mandate, and actually a command of Jesus Himself. But Jesus did not come for the purpose of numerical growth as an achievement, or for the purpose to make activities more fun for our youth and children. No, His purpose was for much more. His purpose was to have more believers involved in a personal relationship with Him, and therefore, with the Father. We were created to enjoy fellowship with God, through our relationship with one another.
So, to wrap up these wandering thoughts, when we say we want more children and youth in the church, we must consider our motivation for “more.” I have a saying that I have shared with our leadership:
“Every organization is perfectly structured to achieve the results that it is currently getting.”
As a fellowship with an honest desire to grow our church, are we achieving the results that we are structured to get? In our study of Acts, we see that God was constantly adding to His church. But the additions that He provided came as the result of the believers spending time in prayer, Communion, fellowship, and basically time in the Word (teachings of the Apostles). As we desire more, is our desire for the purpose of honoring God, or ourselves? Is the purpose for more an objective of disciple making, or simply enticing more disciples to join our church? Are we designed to lead our youth (and adults) into deeper relationships with Christ, or are we seeking improved ways of creating an atmosphere that they will like when then come into our facility?
These are the thoughts and challenges that keep me awake at night. A recent question that I pondered with some of our leaders is what can we do as a church to make it a place that our youth would want to invite their friends to. We have also considered what can we do to make Yorkshire a place that our adults would want to invite their friends to. Of course, a quick point to make here is, “have you invited anyone into our church lately” (why or why not?). These are fair questions and thoughts to ponder and we certainly need to make Yorkshire Church a positive place for those who enter our doors. But we also need to focus on our efforts to grow into our relationship with Christ. How do our actions, activities, programs, functions, concerts, meetings, and worship reflect the light of Jesus Christ to those who do not yet know Him? And yes, we need to do things and have a facility that meets certain requirements in form and function to be a desirable place to be.
My conclusion on my reflections this morning is that as a church, we need to be more, do more, serve more, and reach more. We need more adults, more youth, more children. But not for our own survival or success factor. Not so there are two, three or four vans of youth leaving for Impact. But because we have been commissioned by Jesus to be more than we are today. More in our relationship with Him. More in our witness to others.
More in our love for one another. More time in the Word. More time in fellowship. More time walking with others who do not yet know what it means to have a relationship with Him. I think when we seek the right “more,” for the right reasons, that God will provide the “more” that we are looking for.
Have a Great and Blessed Day!
-pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
- Published in What's Brewing
What’s Brewing, July 15, 2021
15 July 2021
Greetings to each of you on this great Yorkshire day!
This morning as I write this edition of “What’s Brewing,” I first recognize how thankful Holly and I are to have the opportunity to serve and be a part of Yorkshire Church. I am not the type of person that is anniversary focused, meaning that each year that goes by, I am not going to give you a count of how long we have been together. But, for this year, I will make an exception. We have made it through our first year together! And as for Holly and I, we are celebrating as we thank God for this blessing. We are thankful for the support and generosity of each of you and the relationships that we have forged together. We are truly blessed.
This morning, I reviewed some of our announcements that we have posted on social media recently. We are using elements of social media to let friends of the church know what type of activities are happening. We are using it to advertise employment opportunities. We are sharing that we have openings in our preschool. The fact is that social media reaches thousands of people that we would not otherwise be able to connect with. We have most recently advertised the Spoken concert that will be occurring in our parking lot on July 30th.
But, one of the comments that someone made on our post was a negative one suggesting that Yorkshire is no longer the church that it used to be- a suggestion that seemed to be based on the type of music that we share or enjoy as a fellowship. The point was that we are no longer who we used to be based on the “entertainment” that we offer. I responded privately to the person (unknown to me) that over the past few months, we have shared, as a fellowship in Southern Gospel, Jazz, Contemporary Music, and even praise God to the sound of fantastic pipe organ music. In a few weeks, we will have the joyous sounds of Steven Courtney and his Suitcase Musicians in our front yard. Is it really the style of music that we may listen to from time to time that predicates “who we are as a church?” To be fair, the individual called out the period of time during Reverend Knisley’s tenure as pastor as being the benchmark for “the type of church” that we “used to be.”
The truth is, though, that we are no longer the type of church that we once were in many respects. We are not the type of church we were ten years ago, five years ago, or even one year ago when we began our journey together. Not only are we not the same, but our community is not the same, our culture is not the same, and yes, even our music may not be the same. I recently had some great discussions regarding our Sunday School programming with many of you. Some of the concerns are that “it is not the same” as it used to be. It is not “the type” of Sunday School that we are used to. And just like the person that commented on social media, the only accurate response is that, no, it is not the same, and no, we are not “the type” of church that we used to be.
But this does not mean that the type of church that we are is not good. We are a church “for a time such as this.” We are responding to very different cultural and social issues than what existed ten or twenty years ago. We are responding to different issues than what we faced two years ago. The way families worship and prioritize church in their lives is different. In what would be my parent’s generation, being a “regular church attender” meant that you attended church at least 3 out of 4 Sundays per month. Today, similar statistics suggest that the average family who are considered “regular attendees” worship together 1 Sunday per month. That statistic alone accounts for a 50-75% decline in average Sunday attendance.
I don’t spend a great deal of effort focusing on attendance. I have had the honor to serve churches that only worshipped 15-20 folks a week- yet their love for God and one another was rich. I consider such opportunities
as a blessing and an honor. However, attendance factors force us to consider what type of activities and programs we can offer to those who worship regularly as well as those who visit for the first time. We are challenged to offer consistency when the average rate of church attendance in our society are only one or two times per month. This is not an underhanded commentary to address those who fall into this category – it may simply be a natural element of the season of life that you are in. Holly and I have been there, also.
But it does predicate us to be different than we were when things made us “the type” of church that we may have been at one time. The key is, that who we were then, was good. The church did things and acted accordingly based on the resources and availability of resources that it had. In the same way, “the type” of church we are today is based on the very same factors. And it too, is good. We do and act in a manner that best uses our resources and availability of resources. But they are different. And therefore, so are we.
Here is what is the same; our purpose is to worship and praise God, the Word of God, and we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We are called to share our witness of Christ and make more disciples of Jesus Christ. And we must constantly strive to understand and use how God is calling us as a church to do them. Will we need to do them differently than in the past. Sure. Does it make us better or worse than who we were in the past? Absolutely not. It makes us different.
And today, different is at least good. I won’t suggest better as that is not my intent. I want us to be the best that we can be to serve the purpose that God has for us today and tomorrow. An analogy of the church that I find to be a relevant metaphor is a football game. At a football game, you will have 22 players carrying out the functions of the game at any given time. They each have different functions. Some block, some tackle, and some run the ball. But then there are spectators. Those that attend the game to watch, enjoy fellowship, and to support those that play. Now, some of the spectators are folks that used to play the game, but can no longer do so. Some are folks that may be aspiring to play, gaining motivation and desire to get on the gridiron. Others come because of an inherent interest in the game and the strategy and employ what they learn in other aspects of their life. But regardless, when you are inside the stadium, everyone there has a role and a purpose. But what makes the team on the field stronger, is the growth of the players. The number of players. The availability of resources- folks with gifts to block, tackle, run, and throw the ball. It may be argued that one of the most important aspects of any team is the strength of its roster. The church is no different. We enter our field of play, the mission field, with the resources that we have and we employ those resources in a manner in which we feel will give us the best opportunity for success- growing stronger in our faith and relationship with God, and making disciples of his Son Jesus Christ.
So, in response to our social media critic, my goal is not to be better, worse, or the same as what we once were. It is simply to be the best that we can be today. To be faithful with how God is blessing us today. To carry out his commandments and commissions in a manner that meets the scriptural mandate. Most of all Yorkshire Church, I pray that if nothing else, we do all that we do while loving the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind, while loving one another, as Jesus loved us, so that everyone that we come in contact with, knows that we are His disciples. (Matthew 22:37, John 13:34-35)
Have a Great and Blessed Day!
-pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
- Published in What's Brewing
What’s Brewing, July 1, 2021
1 July 2021 Good Day Yorkshire!
A few months ago as we began to experience the reality that the church was returning to a more active posture, the leadership team discussed how the church should begin to reopen and reengage in various activities and ministries. One of the questions that was discussed was “what is our mission and vision as a church?” Over the past few years, some work has been done on these questions, but as of today, the church does not have a definitive mission or vision statement. We agreed that if I asked each person leaving the church on any given Sunday what the mission or vision of Yorkshire Church is, that I would get almost as many answers as the number of people that I asked.
But obviously, we understand that our core mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. We may not have a fancy slogan to encapsulate that point, but I think that we all get it. The question then becomes, “how” do we do this as Yorkshire Church? What is our plan? Is it simply to have worship services at 9 & 11 with 45 minutes of Sunday School in between? Maybe a few Bible studies here and there? We certainly do some great things, but are we doing the types of things that meet our mission objective to make disciples?
There are a couple of ways to begin a process to answer such questions. One is to hold planning style meetings for our leadership to design programs and activities that will help us make disciples. We can model what other churches are doing and implement a structure to accomplish our mission. We can teach our church just what our plans include and then measure the results. This is what many church leadership teams do. And some are very successful. But I believe the heart of a church cannot be created or developed from a planning meeting. What I mean is that we cannot sit in the fellowship hall and design plans to create passion or energy within the body of our church. Instead, what we need to first do is understand what is the passion and energy with our church and then provide the structure and programs to support that passion and energy. To begin this process of understanding just who we are, I asked our leadership team to respond to four questions. They had a few weeks to consider the questions as they discerned their answers. I wanted them to speak on behalf of the folks that they interacted with at Yorkshire. After all, a leadership team has the responsibility to serve the will of the people! The four questions were:
- Where will we be in six months?
- What should be different for us in six months / one year?
- What is not getting better in our church?
- One thing that we should do immediately is…
We received 84 responses from the team. The results were categorized into focus areas that could be quantified in a manner that we could address as a church. The results are helping us to discern how we move forward and in what areas to put our efforts. The idea is to ensure that we put our energy into things that support and compliment who we are as a church and where our passion for ministry and our natural gifts leads us. Through prayer, it is intended that this will result in our church growing in areas that God is calling us to, as a particular church, for a time such as this.
The ranked responses look like this:
Area of focus Number of Responses
Missions and Outreach (Local and Abroad): 18
Education (Sunday School, Bible Study, Small Groups): 15
Fellowship (Worship & Hospitality Activities): 14
Attendance (Growing our Fellowship): 9
Leadership (We have “leaders” but do we have a team?): 7
Music (Praise & Worship, Choir, Special Music): 6
Youth Programming and Activities: 6
Facilities, Administration, Preschool, Denomination Finance: 5
Finance: 4
As a result of this information, we are working as a staff and a team to focus our energy on what these results tell us. This information is also validated by what the Ad Council shared with Holly and me as things that were important to Yorkshire when we were introduced back in January, 2020.
Some may ask, “did you really need to do a survey to figure this out?” The survey simply gives us a mandate to focus on. While there are so many ideas of what should we do and how we should do it, we also have to realize that we are a church of finite resources- financial and personal. If we focus on the areas where we have a clear objective as a body, then we can make the biggest impact on achieving our ultimate objective- making disciples.
What you are seeing as a church as we move forward is an increased focus of our leadership, staff and teams in the areas of Missions and Outreach, Education, and Fellowship. There are 9 areas of focus that were listed and all areas are being addressed, but we are simply addressing everything we do through the lenses of Missions, Education, and Fellowship. And the key to doing that is to remember that end goal of all things is to share our witness, continue to grow in our faith and relationship with God, and of course, make disciples of Jesus Christ!
The survey had no preparatory scriptural study or reference. But, when you consider the results with our current Acts study, I like to think that I see God’s hand in preparing us for what lies ahead.
Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Missions/Outreach) Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Education/Fellowship)
To close, the following leaders participated in our study. It is our goal to ensure that we lead in a manner that serves the church. Your voices are important! Always feel free to reach out to me or any of our leaders to share your thoughts, concerns, and inspirations! We are the church. We are Yorkshire Church!
- Jim Valentine, Council Chair
- David Lloyd, Trustees
- Susan Workinger, Missions
- Fran Lucash
- Doug Berman, Finance
- Steve Spangler, Trustees
- Rick Focht, Education
- Justin Mann, Treasurer
- Joe Blackwood, Staff Parish
- Frank Herron
Have a Great and Blessed Day!
-pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952
_____________ www.yorkshirechurch.org
- Published in What's Brewing
What’s Brewing, June 24, 2021
24 June 2021 Good Day Yorkshire!
It has been a week full of great times and good tidings! Some of the most exciting news is that we now have two of the four Joyful Noise Preschool vacancies filled! We have two Teacher Aides on the roster, and I am very happy to let you know that our own Tiffany Ivie has answered the call to be one of them! This is great news- we are excited to have Tiffany on the preschool staff and I know she will be a blessing to all of the children we are called to serve! We are in final negotiations with a teacher this week which leaves us with one vacancy to fill. We can use any assistance as you pass the word to everyone you know. Joyful Noise is a very exciting ministry of Yorkshire Church! We will provide full introductions to our new staff as we move forward.
Our new custodian has been on board for a few weeks now and is doing a great job as she familiarizes herself with our facility. Her greatest challenge this week has been juggling her efforts around all of the activity at the church. Ad Council meeting Monday evening, Joyful Noise Preschool Board meeting Tuesday evening, Scout activities out in the garden to transform it into a play area for the preschool, Men’s Fellowship Wednesday morning (6AM) and evening (6PM) and starting this week, we have our Youth and friends in the building from 10AM to 2PM… and wow are they noisy! What a great time yesterday as they enjoyed fellowship with one another throughout the building, fellowship hall and outdoors. It is a blessing to hear their laughter and carryings-on (they’re kids, right?), and what a blessing to have been extended the offer to join them for lunch and have some great conversations. They even helped out with some grounds work picking up sticks and yard debris! They are an incredible group of kids that are building relationships that will last a lifetime. I look forward to interacting with them on the Wednesdays that they are at the church and at our home this Sunday evening.
Another exciting event in the world of our youth is a Bible Study fellowship that started this past Monday evening led by Sarah Berman. This study focuses on “relationships” and how to nurture Godly relationships in our lives and is targeted at our Middle School and High School youth. Although it is important for our church to provide upbeat and exciting activities for youth and children, it is also important to take time to share in biblical study with one another. For our youth and now young adults, this discipline is of vital importance and I can’t tell you how excited I am to see this time of study grow. I wish I would have had such an opportunity when I was in High School, but it wasn’t until many years after I graduated that I experienced the joy of group bible study which occurred while I was serving in the military at Fort Polk, LA. So kudos to our Youth and Sarah Berman for beginning this element of fellowship. Great thanks for Pastor Megan in her mentoring and role to all of our youth and young adults! Great things are happening at Yorkshire!
Last evening at our Men’s Fellowship, we were having a great discussion about how we, as a fellowship can reach out and make a difference to those around us. It is easy for us to say that our mission as a church is to “make disciples” and serve our community. But how do we do this? Our “Stepping Up” study speaks to the needs of men in our culture that are hurting or who may be stalled as a result of various factors in their lives. One of the things that we discussed is that as a church, everything that we do needs to focus on our mission. Although our “formal” mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ, it is not like we can open a can of Playdough and mold out some Christ followers, right? We need to meet folks where they are and let them know they are welcome; let them see that we are a group who care deeply for one another and finds strength in being together. We need to show others that we support one another, laugh together, and share areas of our lives where we need help, advice, and guidance. To see the element of trust in one another is a powerful thing for folks who don’t know it, or are struggling with trusting others due to their personal life experiences.
As Yorkshire begins to have events and activities over the next few months, we have to remember that everything we do must be done as a ministry to reach others. When our youth meet at the church, it is an opportunity to invite someone, share it with a friend. When we have our Spoken outdoor concert in July, it is an opportunity to share with our community and invite a friend who may come to such an event before they entertain the idea of coming to worship. In the fall, when we have our Rally Day programs (Sep 12- more info to come!), it is not an event to simply let us have fun and enjoy our day- but it is an opportunity for us to do that and share it with those who do not understand such joy in fellowship. Bible studies, prayer fellowships, and everything we do must be viewed through the lens of how can we share this with others. How can we use the blessings that God has provided us for a time such as this to reach others with our witness? We don’t have to preach, pray or open a bible to demonstrate the blessings of a relationship with God. Actually, Jesus told his disciples that it would be their love for one another that would provide a desire in the hearts of others to belong (John 13:34-35). So many times in the scriptures we can see that God added to his church through the fellowship of believers.
Our door project is moving along and we now have a target install date which should be in the August timeframe. Unfortunately, a graphic rendering of what the doors will look like once they are installed is not available. But here is a picture of the type of doors we will be installing.
They are glass, which is different than what we currently have, but they will make accessibility to the church much easier for many of our folks because they are ADA compliant (Americans with Disabilities Act). We will be upgrading the Preschool and Office entrance with a similar style door, as well. I am looking forward to these improvements as the need to replace and upgrade our doors was first identified over ten years ago! (My dad always told me, “Everything comes to those who wait!”). If you would like to help offset the expense of this project ($21,000.00), you can make your contribution out to “Building Fund.” This will be very helpful as we continue to address our facility maintenance issues.
So, as we move forward and open our new doors, lets focus on everything we do being a ministry, and not an activity. Even our maintenance and upgrades have a purpose to serving others. Our fun and enjoyment in fellowship may simply be the best way to invite someone into a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not about us, but it is about how God will use the blessings that He has given us through our open hearts and desire to serve Him!
Have a Great and Blessed Day!
-pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
- Published in What's Brewing
What’s Brewing, June 17, 2021
17 June 2021 Blessings and Greetings!
It is a great Yorkshire Day albeit a bit of a chilly start to this Yorkshire Day. A few days ago, we were sweating and cranking the Air Conditioning up a bit to make for comfortable sleeping. This week, we have the windows open, and needed to pull up the blankets as it is 52 degrees outside. The last few evenings have actually been a bit chilly to sit outside. Although not the summer weather I prefer, it has been an enjoyable few days- I know the heat is coming!
As I mentioned last week, we have an exciting project that began this week in what has been known as the church garden. Austin Strickler, a Scout in Troop 25, presented an Eagle Scout project proposal to our Church and Scout leadership last Wednesday and Thursday evening. Austin approached me several months ago regarding his interest to have his Eagle Scout project be something that would support our church. After several meetings with Dave Lloyd, Steve Spangler, Jim Valentine, Julie Mann, and myself, Austin’s proposal is to convert the “garden” into a play area for our Joyful Noise Preschool.
“The project will greatly benefit the YUMC by providing them with a use of the garden grounds by transforming it into a kid-friendly, safe place to play for the kids of Joyful Noise Preschool. As of right now, the kids are playing in an open grass area beside the church. The children have no playground equipment, and the teachers have to actively watch their children to make sure they don’t go out into the road. Building the playground will provide the children with a fun and safe place to play, while also giving them a use to the garden.”
-Eagle Scout Service Proposal, Austin Strickler, Troop 25
Austin’s presentation was very professional and it was a blessing for all of us who experienced his professionalism, attention to detail, candor, and motivation to “give back” to our church and community. He responded very well to the questions and interactions of the team and was able to provide clear and concise answers to many questions. Over two days, he presented to Mark Robertson (Troop 25 Unit Committee Chair), Perry Bevivino (Troop 25 Unit Leader), Steve Coates (Boy Scout Council/District Project Approval Representative), Jim Valentine (Ad Council Chair), Susan Workinger (Missions Chair), Rick Focht (Education Chair), Barb Snare (Joyful Noise Preschool Board Chair), Julie Mann (Preschool Director), Randy Fry (SPRC Member), Doug Berman (Finance Chair), and myself.
Although the word “playground” is utilized, there will be no permanent playground structures or equipment installed. This will be a “garden-play area” that will house play apparatus appropriate for 3- and 4-year-old children that can be moved, cleaned, and stored as required. There will be benches for teachers and parents to sit as they enjoy their time interacting with the children. Gates, fencing and other safety measures will be added to the current area to fulfill Austin’s vision. The project cost is estimated to be around $6,000.00 with the primary expenses being the fencing, gates, and rubber mulch/ground cover. If you would like to make a contribution to this project, simply mark your giving to “Building Fund” from which the funding for the project will come.
In regards to our Financial status at Yorkshire Church, we continue to be blessed. We are blessed by those who are working very hard to account, track, process, manage, and report our financial situation. From those that count on Sundays led by Charlie Hoffman, to those that then make sense of the numbers Alison, Justin Mann
and Doug Berman, we are blessed! Our financial picture remains strong! Another area where “kudos” to our Team-Finance must be presented- the employees of Yorkshire Church received paychecks via “direct deposit” last week for the first time! This was a great blessing!
Here are our financial numbers through the end of May. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me and I will further explain, or put you in touch with one of our team members that will be happy to discuss with you.
Through the end of May, 2021(5 months):
Income: $171,332
Building Fund: $5,161
Total Income: $176,493
Expenses: $144,746
Net Profit/(Loss) $ 31,747
*Note: This does not include Joyful Noise Preschool Numbers
Our available funds, meaning monies that are not specifically designated, were reported at $141,722 as of the end of May. This number fluctuates as we pay our Shares of Ministry ($10,000 per Quarter), insurances, payroll, monthly expenses and building maintenance, but has remained steady throughout this year. This is healthy, but we also have much to do around our facility. With the new doors, property enhancements, and much needed facility repairs, we can be confident that with your continued generosity, we can operate from a solid financial foundation. Any additional gifts designated to the Building Fund are greatly appreciated!
From a logistics standpoint, our greatest challenge remains to be the availability of people. We are still in great need of Preschool teachers and teacher aides for the 21-22 school year. We are seeking, with the assistance of Matt, a new Worship Leader for the first service (9AM). We need volunteers for the Media Center, Greetings Team, and Praise and Worship Team (musicians/vocalists).
As we are studying Acts, an interesting paradox became apparent to me. In the early church, each time there was something great that happened, it was mirrored by a significant challenge. I was reflecting on this a few days ago when I heard a song on a classic rock station I was listening to (yes, I enjoy quality classic rock!) called “The Best of Times” by the band Styx. Now, I am not suggesting that the song writer had any theological intent to the lyrics, but titled the “Best” of times, the song really discusses that these times are actually in the midst of the “worst” of times. Our challenges are nowhere near such less-than-positive times, but, as far as the Book of Acts, there is some similarity. Great things were happening in the early church, but for each blessing, there was a challenge-we’ll discuss this over the next few weeks.
We at Yorkshire, also have some challenges. As “post-pandemic” worship returns, we need to rise to the challenge- both in support to Yorkshire Church, as well as to the places that God is calling us. These may be the “best of times,” but they also are presenting some opportunities for us. Your continued support is greatly needed and appreciated. Support in volunteering for service, inviting friends and family and certainly in prayer! Yah, we’ve got this!
Have a Great and Blessed Day!
-pastor dave.
dkominsky@susumc.org
125 Edgewood Road, York, PA 17402 • (717)755-4952 • www.yorkshirechurch.org
- Published in What's Brewing