Pastor’s Message

“The Up’s and Down’s of Epidemic”

Years ago, a secretary had placed a placecard on her desk because so many people were demanding immediate responses with no idea of the work schedule and the pressures with which she had to deal. The secretary’s sign read, “Be Patient … God hasn’t finished with me yet”. She received the desired effect – – people laughed and were less demanding – – realizing her schedule was often not under her control.

Last Monday, we were taking down signs at the Brown Church that read, “Facemasks Highly Recommended for those not Vaccinated ” and replacing them with signs that say, “Facemasks Required”. Facemasks were handed out to everyone who came for meals at the Dinner Bell. The only comments made when people were offered masks was, “I should have remembered to bring mine from the car – – next week I’ll remember.” Upon entering a store this week (masked), someone asked me, “What are the rules now? Does anyone know? ”

“When I received my second dose of vaccine, I thought to myself,  ‘I’m finally home free!’ Now they want to mask up again and get a booster shot … I’m tired of all this!  When’s it going to end?” was a question posed to me by several people this week.   So many of us are feeling worn out, confused, frightened. It is as if we were promised a quick cure and now it seems the cure was not all what it was cracked up to be! The medical news coming to us from Israel is that ½ their hospitalizations are fully vaccinated patients – – the virus is spreading with increased effectiveness. Meanwhile in this country, the news is reporting, “the epidemic is largely an epidemic of unvaccinated people ”. Is it any wonder why people are confused ?!

 The truth of the matter is the Covid-19 virus is much like our influenza viruses. Each year we get a report of “how effective the vaccine was this year and what new variants were or were not covered”. What is also clear is that the Covid virus is much more virulent, causing more hospitalizations, longer-lasting symptoms, more respiratory failures, and deaths than influenza. We need to take it seriously and be prepared to address it into the future.

Please know that the Brown Church leadership meets regularly to address this issue and to make the most informed decision we can with the most updated information we have. Our priority is to keep everyone healthy and safe. When decisions are made, they may seem like reversals, but they are correctives made to respond to existing data.

“Be Patient … God is not finished with the Brown Church yet! ”,     

Rev. John Hughes
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Our Capital Campaign Journey

As many of you know, we have been in the process of developing plans to address the much- needed improvements to our church building. We have had many twists, turns and detours along our journey with this capital campaign project. However, structural and maintenance needs we can’t ignore, persistence and faith have helped us stay the course. We began this journey in 2015 with many discussions and meetings to determine the mission of the church, needed building improvements and additional equipment and furnishing needs.

We have been working with a construction manager, architect and engineers to determine the work that is required and to establish priorities and timelines. They have also helped us to de- velop plans based on input from committees, surveys, brain storming ideas and working through many interior and exterior modifications.

We have summarized ideas and developed information that focuses on our church as a place of worship and community service. This information has given us direction in developing the structural and architectural designs for the building.

We are now at the point with a great deal of time, effort and resources invested that we have preliminary plans to present. We invite the congregation and friends to view the plans in the Fellowship Hall, ask questions and give us feedback. Plans will be posted on September 5, 2021. Final approval for this project will be required from the church members to proceed. We anticipate a November/December meeting to vote to decide to continue with the project and proceed with fundraising efforts.

We appreciate all the time, resources and dedication many members have provided to get us to this point. The campaign will continue to need the support of church members and friends as well as community residents to assure we can reach our goals.

Your Capital Campaign Steering Committee:

Anne Getchell         Nancy Divine        Carl Vitters             Duddie Andrews

John Edgerton       Louise Saxby         Judy Workman      Paul Weld

Rev. John Hughes