Welcome to our Blog!

Welcome to Pilgrim Lutheran’s web blog, our newest way to let all of our church family and friends know about Pilgrim’s latest news and events, and occasional musings from the pastor!  We hope you’ll check back often to keep up-to-date.

Prayer for the Youth National Gathering

The ELCA National Youth Gathering will be happening this month in New Orleans.  Their great desire is to have the gathering covered in prayer every moment of the week.  People around the world are scheduled to pray; we have signed up for a 30 minute slot.  On Sunday, July 26th from 10:00 to 10:30 in the chapel, come join us as we pray for the spiritual growth of thousands of Lutheran teenagers as they gather in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God!  (Feel free to pop in for a few minutes, or stay the whole time.)

Pray for our High School Mission Trip

This Sunday, July 12, (at 5:15am), 16 youth and 5 adult leaders will be traveling to Smithers, W. Virginia for a week long mission trip. They will be doing home repair for those in need in the community –connecting with others, looking for God Sightings, reaching out to be a light to the world! Please keep them in your prayers for safe travel as they spread God’s love.

Prayer Shawl Ministry

We are beginning a new ministry here at Pilgrim called the Prayer Shawl Ministry. Members of the congregation will knit/crochet prayer shawls and members of the congregation will personally take them out as a tangible sign of our prayerful support during times of sickness, grief, struggle and life transitions.

If you crochet or knit, and would like to use your gift for ministry, or would like to learn how, we meet on the 2nd Friday of each month in the parlor at 10:00am

6:33 is on the road to Lutheridge

This Tuesday, July 14, Six:33 will lead evening worship at Lutheridge, so come on a “PILGRIM-age” to praise God on the mountaintop! Grab some friends, hop in the car, and take exit 40 (Asheville airport) off I-26W (Turn right off the exit, turn right on Hwy.25, turn right into the drive to Lutheridge). Worship starts at 8PM and will last about an hour – we’d love to see some familiar faces in the crowd!

Vacation Bible School

We are getting ready to GO! Studio GO! that is.
Vacation Bible School July 19-23
Our Celebration Kick-off is next Sunday at 5:30pm with a pizza party! The rest of the week begins at 6:15—meet us in the sanctuary for the opening (no meals this year). We are still collecting milk jugs for crafts and cardboard rolls from paper towels and tissue, as well as, non-peanut snacks, like fish crackers, cheez its, pretzels, animal crackers, etc. – just bring them to the registration table in the narthex.

Real Teamwork, Real Service, Real FUN!
Volunteer training sessions will be held on Tuesday, July 14 at 7:00pm and Saturday, July 18 at 10:00 am in the fellowship hall classrooms.

PILGRIM PRAISE BAND BECOMES “6:33”

Riding the wave of our church’s “strive first for the kingdom” prayer time, our PLC band has adopted the name “6:33″, AND we’re headed to the studio to record a worship CD!  The CD will be a tool for evangelism as well as a worship aid so y’all can practice singing those tunes and praise God ALL THE TIME!  

 Songs we’re planning to include are:         Alive, Forever, Amen

                                                             Here I Am to Worship  

                                                             My Redeemer Lives

                                                             Mighty to Save

                                                             Jesus Messiah

                                                             Hands to Jesus

                                                             Worthy Is the Lamb

                                                             Let God Arise

 Got a favorite that’s not on the list yet? We want your input! Look for the display on Sunday morning in the narthex – you can fill out a form and drop it in the basket.  

 A minimum donation of $10 guarantees that a copy of the CD will be reserved for you! Order extras for your family, friends and all the folks you’re inviting to Pilgrim! Any additional donations to help offset the expense of our recording session will be thankfully received.

Operation Inasmuch

Operation Inasmuch (OIAM) is chugging along.  What a wonderful privilege it is to serve our community!  We have 12 projects that cover the spectrum of service to Lexington.  Our construction projects are getting under way soon.  We have a materials list for the handicap bathroom conversion for young Shelby.  I am meeting with the Manager of Lowe’s in Lexington with that list to see what he can do for us.  When funding is secure, we’ll shop and start the project.  Hallelujah!  We’re also getting ready to set the posts for the wheelchair ramp we’re doing in Gaston.  Thank you to Ken Drafts (project leader for the bathroom conversion) and Ed Crumpton and Karl Horner (project leaders for the wheelchair ramp) for their expertise and time!

 

We have need for every project.  Please stop by on Sunday mornings and look over the projects, pray over them, and sign up.  If you’d like to donate money to Operation Inasmuch, feel free to put it in the collection plate on Sundays (mark it “operation inasmuch”), or put it in the collection plate on Wednesdays during the Lenten service (monies will go to both OIAM and the Samaritan Fund at LifePoint Counseling Center).  If you’d like to donate materials, please contact me (swmccloy@gmail.com, or 614-668-2384 for specifics. 

 

1 John 3:17-18 (NIV):If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

God is Good, All the Time!
–
Stan McCloy

Pray at 6:33pm

Join us in prayer each day at 6:33pm.  Take a minute to stop, and pray for God’s Kingdom!

A look back at 2008

Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

 

            Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)

 

 

We have been truly blessed with a vibrant and growing church that continues to make a difference in the lives of our members and visitors, and in our community. Our accomplishments in 2008 are directly related to the generous time and any many talents of our dedicated members and staff.

 

Pilgrim continued to grow its membership from 558 members in 2002 to 755 members at the end of 2008. More importantly, we our worship attendance continued to grow with worship attendance exceeding 46% of our membership on a weekly basis in 2008 as compared to about 32% for other Lutheran churches in our area. Bible Study groups, our Sunday School, and our mid-week NOT Sundays continue to grow. We are truly blessed not only to have our worship leaders, but members that often work tirelessly and always joyfully to make all of our worship services the highlight of our week.

 

We understand we are commissioned to make a difference in this broken world. In 2008, Pilgrim was instrumental in formation of LifePoint, a Christian-based family counseling center that operates in our parsonage facility. Through the efforts of many, we were also able to endow a Samaritan’s Fund for LifePoint to help defray counseling expenses for those unable to pay. Our Pilgrim Community Pre-School continues to be a source of pride for our Church and an important outreach ministry for our Church. The pre-school operated at or near capacity for the entire year. Even our new electronic sign serves to invite others to share in our experiences here.

 

Our growth requires our leadership to address the issues at hand and to set goals for years to come. In 2008, the Church Council set five-year goals regarding our worship experience, member participation in the ministries of the Church, financial stewardship, and the growth of our individual faith. This is a roadmap, if you will, to help identify needed ministries, and equip those that will provide those ministries. “Equipping Ministries” was started in 2008, and will drive this process for years to come.

 

Growth and expanding ministries create opportunities and challenges. Our infrastructure—worship facilities and staff, particularly—are in place to continue to meet the needs of a rapidly growing Lexington community. This foundation requires us to manage our personnel and financial resources as best we can—to meet the commitments we have made as a congregation and to look forward to meeting future needs.  With a strong fourth quarter response from the congregation, we ended the year budget year at 95% of our budget. We also met our mortgage obligations for the year and actually reduced our mortgage principal by over $100,000.  However, we enter 2009 with a lower cash position than we had at the same time in 2008, so as a congregation, we must continue to carefully manage our resources to meet our commitments and to provide the needs of Pilgrim and the community.

The dedication of the Pilgrim family never ceases to amaze me. We have much to rejoice about in 2008 for we have been truly blessed. As we continue to move forward in Faith, the possibilities have few boundaries.

 

 

Ken Brock

Congregational President