THE HIGHLIGHTS 

Were you there?  It was almost a sellout.  People were still arriving after the scheduled start time.  There were not enough programs for those in attendance.  After an hour and a half the crowd was weary, but asking for more.  What a night for the home team!

No, I'm not reporting on the LSU baseball victory over Northwestern State on Tuesday night; I'm talking about the fantastic Church Council meeting that was held in Noel's Fellowship Hall.

After an opening hymn by Bryan Bierbaum and the Finance Committee report from Kenny Morrow, (we are only $3,500 shy of our Second Mile Goal of $100,000 with ten days to go!), we began the report that everyone wanted to hear.  What had come out of the Worship Scheduling Meeting (WSM) held over the weekend?  Also known as the..."Why does the preacher leave the Traditional Service early and get to the Contemporary Service late?"  meeting.

Flint led off the lineup and presented the Sunday schedules of our sister United Methodist Churches, and how their services were officiated utilizing one or more preachers.  Following a brief discussion, I reminded those in attendance of Noel's current Sunday schedule and presented some of the pros and cons that were voiced at the WSM.  Additional pros and cons were heard from the floor and added to the list.

The WSM arrived at five alternate worship schedules along with a list of pros and cons for each.  These five were eloquently presented by myself, Jean Goins, Howard Hines, and Kenny Morrow.  As each schedule was presented, pros and cons were noted from the floor.  More discussion was heard after all the options were presented.  At least three "new" options were suggested.  The dialogue was wonderful, respectful, reflective, uplifting, questioning...it was Christian.  What a great congregation we have!

In summary, all of the worship schedule possibilities, along with our current schedule, have hurdles to overcome.  There was a consensus from the Church Council Tuesday night that none of the options had enough support to be voted upon.  A motion to continue the discussion at a later time was made, seconded, and voted upon.  This motion passed.  After a closing song by Jonathan Andrews, the meeting was adjourned.

If you were there...thank you.  If you were absent...we missed you.  Where do we go from here?  My hope is that we will all pray about it and see where God leads us.  Our next Church Council meeting is May 25 at 7:00 p.m.  I hope you will be able to come.

     

Ellis Brown, Church Council Chairperson                                                      

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE-It is time for Noel members who are students to apply for scholarships for the 2010-2011 academic year. Noel members who are graduating high school seniors or undergraduate college students may apply. Applications for non-Centenary students may be picked up from the church office and are due back no later than June 1.  Centenary students must apply through the Financial Aid Office at Centenary.

SCHOLARSHIP DONATIONS NEEDED-Members are encouraged to make donations to the General Scholarship Fund.  We always have more students applying to schools other than Centenary and therefore more funds are needed.  When you plan to make a donation for a memorial or honorarium, please keep the Scholarship Fund in mind.

second mile Campaign Update-We have received $81,050 in cash and $15,503 in pledges totaling $96,553 towards our $100,000 goal.  It's not too late to contribute to the campaign which ends May 2; if you need any information or a second-mile pledge card, please contact the church office.

Addresses worth noting-Rev. Flint Shea's email address has changed.  His new email is flint@noelumc.org.  Please make note of it for future correspondence.