The Messenger - August 19, 2007

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    Pastor Neal's Notes

Works in Progress: Air Conditioning

I'll never forget the first time a church member showed me how to run the heat & air conditioning system of our church. *I was so confused*!  I remember learning that we had two compressors, but one of them didn't work. The other worked, but it was inadequate to cool the whole building.  Thus, we used switches to cool at most half of the building at a time. In order to do this properly, one had to flip a switch that that closed off part of the building, then open a door, then watch a gage turn.  Once the gage turned exactly 180 degrees, you flipped the switch back to it's center position (neither up nor down).  Having successfully closed off coolant in that part of the building, you flipped another switch (to open a separate zone), opened the door, and watched that gauge turn as well. After it turned 180 degrees, you moved that switch back to the center, too.  But before you started any of this, you had to make sure that the circulation pump was running (it was found on a separate wall).  And, in the winter, you had to check the furnace, too. Finally, to heat the sanctuary, even this was not enough.  You had to start two other furnaces that were placed in a closet beneath the chancel beside the Bill Steele room.  And if you wanted to cool the sanctuary, you had to open two windows in the chancel, close the narthex doors, and turn on a huge exhaust fan for at least an hour before the air conditioning was switched on at all.

After my first "lesson," I set a goal: never touch the heating or AC!  It seemed so convoluted and so difficult to me! And if I had trouble "getting it" as a new member of the staff, how could I ever explain it to an usher or a teacher or a member who needed help?  After 33 months of work (and several very hot days), I think I finally do get it. I think I finally understand.  But the main thing I understand is that *it does not work*.  Even when every procedure is followed to the "t," most of the building is hot on hot days and cold on cold days.  And that stinks.

Fortunately, a generous member of our church contributed $65,000 to address this problem almost 2 years ago, and the Stewardship Commission has spent countless hours studying how to use it.  It took several months of effort just to get a bid. That's because we're much too big for residential heat and air professionals, but we're much too small for the most industrial guys.  Some of these industrial guys promised to show up, but never did.  Others did show up, but never made a bid.  Still another did make a bid, but it cost more than twice as much money as we had.  Finally, we found *ONE company*--just one--who could make a big improvement with just a little more money that we had.  That ONE company is Lucky Aire, who has serviced our system for years.  They are replacing our compressors (and several other parts of the system) even as I write.

I wish that I could tell you that the whole system was being replaced with something much easier to use.  I can't. I wish that I could tell you that every room in the church could be simultaneously cooled.  I can't. But I can tell you that the system should work much, MUCH better than it did before.  Do we still have to vent the sanctuary 2 hours before worship in the summer months?  Yes.  Do we still have cool just part of the physical plant?  Yes.  But the parts we cool should STAY cool even on hot days.  And the parts we heat should stay warm, too.

If you've ever been in a twelve step program, you may have heard this slogan: *progress, not perfection*.  That slogan is apt, in this case.  We've made /progress/ on heat and air--great progress, I believe.  But perfection would require a LOT more cash.  The Stewardship Commission has done a great job with the resources that we have, and I thank them. If you'd like to fund additional upgrades of $50,000, then I'll thank you! In the meantime, let's be grateful for the progress that /has/ been made.

Neal

P.S.  Last word is that the system should be operational in about two weeks.  Praise the Lord!

• Sermon: Hero of the Faith: Ruth
• Scripture: Ruth 1:1-18
• Preacher: Rev. Neal Neuenschwander
• Special Music: from Dianne, Kelsey, and Erin Bettis

• 5th & 6th grade youth of our church are off to camp this week at Forest Home camp with two counselors  

• September 2, Johannes Mueller-Stosch will begin as our new organist.  A reception in the MacCormick room will follow  the service.  All Are Welcome!

• Chancel Choir rehearsals begin Thursday, September 6 at 7:30pm   If you can carry a tune, we want you!

• Women's Bible Studies to start Mon., Sept. 10, 7 - 8:30pm and Wed., Sept. 12, 1 - 2:30pm   Studies are identical.
  

• Rehearsals for all youth choirs start soon.  Members or not, all youth are welcome!
  

• You can sign up online for the new weekly church e-newsletter... or view the archives.

Missionary Joe Angi will be visiting October 5 through 12

Update: August 7 2007

The goal of Mission Challenge ’07 is to connect Presbyterian missionaries and Presbyterian churches. In October 2007, thirty-five Presbyterian Church (USA) missionaries will begin their visits to 142 presbyteries, sharing their stories, telling how God is at work in the world and how we as a denomination participate in God’s mission. Speakers will be presenting on behalf of all the 270 long-term PC(USA) missionaries.

The missionary who will be visiting with the Presbytery of the Pacific will be Joe Angi who works with refugees from Iran, Bosnia and other countries who have found asylum in Hungary. He and his wife, the Rev. Kathy Angi, make their home in Budapest where both work in the in the Refugee Ministry office of the Mission Department of the Reformed Church in Hungary.

Mission Interpretation and Promotion is working on the schedule for the week. For more information please contact the Rev. Heidi Worthen Gamble, the Presbytery's Mission Advocate.

The purpose of the Adult Discipleship Commission is to help people grow closer to God, from wherever they are, through relationships and education.  It is responsible for evangelistic outreach to the unchurched, for timely response to visitors, for assimilation of new participants, and for the spiritual development of church members.  The members of this Commission organize Inquirer's Classes for regular visitors and Bible studies for church members.  Recent initiatives arising from this commission are the Alpha Course, the Eggcellent Easter Extravaganza and The Messenger e-newsletter.

Chairperson: Erik Larson

Did you know that . . . 

• The word "God" appears in every book of the Bible except Esther and Song of Solomon.

Inductive Bible Study or "Exegeses" is to draw out or extract what is in the text the way it was written. One attempts to find the true meaning and explain the passages of scripture from their context.  It is suggested that a translation that is close to litteral be used.