Category: Church Business

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*Atrium Roofing Project Update
Due to safety concerns voiced by the scaffolding company and our desire to avoid risk of interference with our duty as a voting precinct for the upcoming elections, the atrium roofing project is delayed.  We do not have a definite start date currently.  We will coordinate with Chandler Construction to also avoid any overlap with the scheduled elevator project timeline of November 7-21, 2024.  Other details remain the same:

1. The elevator will be available during this project.Overhead protection will be in place.
2. When work begins, we anticipate a three-week project timeline
3. The atrium stairwell will be blocked off from use.  Users of the facility will be asked to use another entrance if possible.
4. Signage will be present to help direct users to the elevator or to another entrance.
5. There will be a dumpster at the Meadow Street/alley corner location, protected by plywood and with signage.This will prevent interruption of alley use.

*Elevator Control Panel Replacement Project
Please mark your calendars now—this project requires that our elevator is out of service for two weeks.  This work is scheduled for November 7-November 21, waiting until after the Presidential election to be sure that there is no interference for that commitment. 

The B&G Committee, pastoral staff, and Administrative Board are making every effort to communicate this information to all building users.  We are researching options for how we can best serve our building community during this project time frame.  More details will be provided as we get near the start of the work.  Please keep reading the TAB for updates.

We sincerely appreciate your understanding as we manage these two important improvement projects.Please direct any questions you may have regarding these building initiatives, or any other suggestions regarding our facilities, to Donna Soyars at soundsidedfs@gmail.com. 

Romans 5:1-11 (The Message)

Reflection Questions

1. Facing Resistance: Reflecting on Our Discomfort

The pastor acknowledged his initial resistance to Paul’s teachings, especially the perception of Paul’s arrogance. This resistance is something we often experience when faced with uncomfortable truths that reveal our own vulnerabilities. Paul’s writings, especially in Romans, challenge us to embrace grace over pride, and to let go of the need to control or judge. It is in releasing our resistance that we find transformation.

Quotes:

• “God’s grace is not a gift we can earn by being strong; it is a gift we receive by admitting our weakness.” — From the sermon
• “The arrogance that pushes back against grace is the same arrogance that resists transformation. The sooner we surrender it, the sooner God can work in us.” — Paraphrased from the sermon

Reflection Questions:

• When have you resisted a difficult truth in your spiritual journey, and what did that resistance reveal about your own need for control or comfort?
• How does embracing the reality of God’s grace change your view of Paul’s teachings and how you relate to others?

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2. Suffering as a Path to Growth

Paul teaches that suffering is not a curse but a pathway to growth and transformation. As Paul writes in Romans 5:3-4, “suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” This chain reaction is how God shapes us through hardship. Instead of seeing suffering as something to avoid, Paul invites us to see it as an opportunity to grow deeper in our faith and trust in God’s love.

Quotes:

• “We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.” — The Message paraphrase of Romans 5:3-4
• “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” — William Barclay

Reflection Questions:

• How do you typically respond to suffering—do you avoid it or embrace it as part of the journey?
• Can you think of a time when suffering produced growth or deepened your hope in God?

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3. God’s Presence in Suffering

One of the key themes of the sermon is that God is not distant or uninvolved in our suffering but walks alongside us through it. Paul understood this deeply, having endured great personal suffering. His message is that God doesn’t cause suffering, but God is present within it. This reframes how we view hardship—not as something to escape but as a place where we can encounter God’s love most powerfully.

Quotes:

• “God is most present in our suffering, not to fix it, but to walk with us through it. It’s in those moments that we find the deepest sense of God’s grace.” — From the sermon
• “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” — Romans 5:5, NRSV

Reflection Questions:

• How has your understanding of God’s presence during suffering changed over time?
• When have you felt God’s closeness during a difficult season in your life?

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4. Justification: Being Grounded in God’s Grace

Justification, as explained in the sermon, is about God “putting us in our place”—not to humiliate or punish, but to ground us in grace. Whether we find ourselves feeling superior or inferior, justification reminds us that we all stand equal before God, with our feet firmly planted on the same ground of grace. Paul’s message is clear: we are all recipients of God’s love, and that levels the playing field.

Quotes:

• “Justification is God putting us in our place—firmly on the ground, not hovering above others or sinking below. We all stand equal in God’s grace.” — From the sermon
• “It’s not about what we do; it’s about what God has done for us.” — Paraphrased from the sermon

Reflection Questions:

• Where do you feel ungrounded or out of balance in your life? How might God be calling you to find your footing in grace?
• How does seeing yourself and others through the lens of God’s grace change your interactions with others?

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5. Endurance Leading to Hope

The sermon emphasizes that endurance isn’t just about getting through hardship, but about being transformed by it. Paul teaches that through endurance, our character is refined, and that character leads to a hope that will not disappoint us. This hope is rooted in God’s love—a love that doesn’t falter in the face of suffering, but is strengthened by it. Endurance, then, becomes a spiritual practice, not just a survival tactic.

Quotes:

• “Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not disappoint us.” — Romans 5:3-5, NRSV
• “Hope is not a feeling; it is a decision to trust in God’s love, even when we cannot see the way forward.” — From the sermon

Reflection Questions:

• Where in your life do you need to cultivate more patience and endurance? How can you lean into the process of growth even when it feels slow?
• How has God shaped your character through the challenges you’ve faced? How does that give you hope?

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6. Peace Beyond Understanding

The peace Paul speaks of in Romans 5:1 isn’t just the absence of conflict—it’s a profound sense of reconciliation with God, a peace that permeates our entire being. This peace, described in the Greek word eirene, points to a state of wholeness and restoration that goes beyond what we can intellectually understand. It’s the kind of peace that, as the woman in the pastor’s story described, resides “in the gut” and transforms our outlook on life.

Quotes:

• “By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us.” — Romans 5:1-2, The Message
• “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God in the midst of chaos.” — Paraphrased from the sermon

Reflection Questions:

• How have you experienced a deep, lasting peace in your life, one that goes beyond mere calm or absence of stress?
• What steps can you take to seek a deeper peace in your relationship with God and others?

7. The Pharmacy Story: A Journey from the Head to the Gut

In the pharmacy, the woman’s story reflects a powerful journey of healing—one that moves from the intellectual understanding of suffering to a deeper, more embodied peace. She begins by touching her head, the site of her tumor, acknowledging where her suffering began. Then she speaks of the peace she felt in her heart—a peace that came after surgery and recovery. But months later, her description of peace had moved even deeper, down to her gut. This profound shift symbolizes more than just healing from illness—it reflects a deep, embodied understanding of God’s peace, beyond emotion, rooted in lived experience.

This story beautifully parallels the movement of faith from intellectual belief to heartfelt trust and finally to an embodied knowing that transcends mere feeling. The woman’s peace in her gut, as the pastor describes, is akin to the peace that Paul speaks of in Romans 5:1-5, a peace that results from enduring suffering and growing in hope.

Quotes:

• “I had this understanding in my life of what it meant to have the good life and kind of this peace. It was right here in my heart. But now I’m discovering this peace that is here, in my gut.” — From the sermon
• “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” — John 14:27, NIV

This deeper, gut-level peace is not just an emotional state; it is a knowing that transcends intellectual understanding and reaches the core of our being. It is the kind of peace that comes after we have walked through suffering and emerged with a renewed sense of God’s presence.

Reflection Questions:

• The woman’s journey from head to heart to gut represents a deepening of her understanding of peace. How does this progression resonate with your own experience of peace?
• Have you ever moved from understanding something intellectually to knowing it deep within your being? How did that shift change your outlook or your faith?
• What does it mean to you to have peace in your “gut”—a peace that goes beyond mere feelings or thoughts and becomes something you embody in your daily life?

Announcement:  Please Vote for an Elevator Control Panel Upgrade

Since the beginning of this year, the Building & Grounds Committee has continued its efforts in developing its 5-year strategic plan.  One of the priority items in that plan is what we need to do and when we need to do anything related to our elevator.  Researching turned out to be a very good idea from a planning ahead perspective.  We learned a lot of new information that has led the Administrative Board and Buildings and Grounds Committee to adjust our timeline for the Elevator Project.

Recommendation from the Building & Grounds Committee and the TBC Administrative Board:
We recommend moving forward with only the replacement of the obsolete control panel for our elevator as a proactive measure to minimize the downtime needed for this upgrade.  After consideration of three proposals, we recommend accepting the proposal from Metro Elevator, whose proposal seems to be the best in terms of price and customer service.  The quoted price for the control panel upgrade is $58,300.

Background Information
The elevator is currently operating well and has passed all inspections.  One of the vendors who evaluated our elevator indicated that a full modernization is not needed at this time, thinking we could wait several years.  That gives us time to raise money for the full upgrade.

1. Time to Complete the Replacement of the Obsolete Control Panel Only
   We will not be able to use the elevator for the projected two weeks needed for the installation of the new control panel.  That means that we as a leadership team need to plan for being without the elevator for two weeks.  This is better than waiting for a problem with our obsolete control panel to occur and then wait for a company to be selected, plan the project, get the materials, and then get the project done, which would likely take at least 10-12 weeks from the time a control panel failure issue occurs.
2. Limiting the Scope of Work
   If we were to fully modernize the elevator, we would likely have to meet City code for such things as fire code.  That would cost a significant amount of money and time.  We understand that we can get an emergency obsolete control panel project approved by the City without addressing code concerns.  That gives us an upgrade to elevator operations until we more fully plan for the $200,000+ expense of modernization and meeting code.
3. Paying for the Project
   We recommend moving forward using available church funds to pay for the new control panel installation, with the understanding that we will immediately begin to raise money for this specific project as an initial step in church fundraising over the next several years.  The Administrative Board will work to realign pending projects if needed and as appropriate to manage church funds well.  The congregation will receive an update on the full scope of all facility-related projects in our next Business Meeting to keep you fully informed.

Your votes for this elevator control panel upgrade will begin on June 30^th.  Immediately after your approval for this project at the end of the church vote on July 14^th, the B&G Committee will begin negotiations for scheduling this work.  Our hope is to get this work completed for our fall church activities. To Vote electronically CLICK HERE.

Please do not hesitate to direct your questions to Donna Soyars at soundsidedfs@gmail.com.

Budget Vote for TBC Fiscal Year 2024-25

There were no suggestions for changes to the FY 2024-25 Budget so you may now vote on the budget. Voting opens on June 14, and will end on June 26, 2024. Major financial expenditures like these budgets require at least 50 votes. Click here for a copy of the TBC Budget.

Click Here to vote electronically. Paper Ballots will also be available in the back of the Sanctuary.

Please remember, you need to be a member of TBC to vote and you may only vote once.

Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, a season of deep reflection on human frailty and brokenness. It’s a season of honest and hopeful repentance. On this day, a cross of ash is gently placed on one’s forehead, accompanied by the solemn reminder, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” 

We invite you to join us for a portion of the day on February 14th to take part in the observance of Ash Wednesday.

11 AM – 5:30 PM The sanctuary will be open You may choose to simply receive ashes only, or stay a little longer for meditation and prayer. 

5:30-6:20 PM  Join us for pancake dinner. (Suggested Donation of $5 per Person)

6:30-7:15 PM  Join us for a communal Ash Wednesday Service in the Sanctuary.  The service will include music, readings, a reflection and the imposition of ashes. 

Annual Business this Sunday, February 4, 2024. Special Edition: The annual meeting will be held on Sunday, February 4, after Worship.  We hope you will join us. Lunch will be served for those attending in person. 2023 Book of Reports We are also making available the 2024 Church Clerk’s Report so that we can officially vote in one new member of the church making them eligible to vote on several important matters during the meeting. Please click here for the Report. Virtual participants can join the meeting via zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89176786037?pwd=SG12ZFMzOEE1d25ZRkdaNjFqR1VLUT09 Meeting ID: 891 7678 6037 Passcode: 045385