A consecration service held Feb. 19 in the Glendale City church capped a 16-year effort to establish a $2 million endowment fund for the church. The service was planned “to solemnly ordain those funds for God's work through the church.”

During the service Pastor Mitch Henson explained, “The fund was designed to help members who may have special needs and provide funds as needs arise for special ministries.”

Initially Pastor Rudy Torres, a former pastor of the church, met with a small group of men dubbed the “Oatmeal Club” because they met for an oatmeal breakfast each week. The group developed the idea for a fund that had been suggested by member DeVere McGuffin and set up an endowment fund board to oversee the fund’s development.

Looking back, Henson noted, “The congregation tended to see only the members of the Oatmeal Club—but many helped, starting with four people and one great gift; other individuals donated condos, timeshares, buckets of coins. In those 16 years, we received donations of just over $1 million dollars. The church realized an additional $900,000-plus as a return on the donated funds, with the help and advice of the board.”

“This is really all about doing God’s work more effectively in our church,” noted Terry Bork, the board’s immediate past chair. “Now our challenge is to support the church in ways that will be of best help to the staff and the church’s mission.”

Attorney Meredith Job, endowment fund board chair, noted that the fund’s size was planned “so that we would need to use only the income for the church. We also planned that the monies would not be used for church operations, but for special needs.”

Henson announced that Glendale City church will commemorate its 100th year anniversary throughout 2006 with multiple church and community events.

Following a brief children’s sermon by Denise Ropka Kasischke, associate pastor for children’s and family ministries, in the main sanctuary, children participated in a “Children’s Worship and Retreat Center.” The new center meets twice monthly on the church’s lower level.

Kasischke said, “We give the children opportunity to be with God, to hear stories of God, to listen and talk to God in a worship space designed for them. The center provides art materials, wooden figures and other teaching tools as part of a curriculum designed to acquaint children with elements of worship and to encourage their reflection on biblical stories.”

The halls and room used for center activity are bright with colorful illustrations and murals. Kasischke added, “The center teaches children that being reflective and deliberate can be playful and satisfying. The program engages the whole child—hands, heart, mind, senses and intuition—and provides children a child-friendly place to experience the presence of God.” Kasischke, a commissioned minister, has been involved in family and children’s ministry since 1997.

About 30 children are participating in the Children’s Worship and Retreat Center. Debbie Hittle and Karen Warfield are assisting.

Grace Center Welcomes All

“Grace Center, a meeting place for older members and friends at the Glendale City church, was started so people could get better acquainted than was possible through other avenues of the church,” said lifelong member Dorothy Colvin.

“The underlying theme for the Grace Center is that everyone is welcome,” Colvin emphasized. “One man, Castle Newell, had never attended a church, nor had his parents. I met him and his wife, Dorothy, as fellow volunteers at GAMC. Castle liked to entertain, so when we needed a singer and pianist for a church program, we asked him to come. He liked the church and we followed up by inviting him to the Christmas program that year.

“Then one Sabbath he came to the church and has continued to attend ever since. He comes at 8 a.m., preparing the continental breakfast for Grace Center, and every week he writes an inspirational piece for a bulletin insert. Upbeat, always ending with joy, his words convey insights about his walk with God.”

This 90-year-old friend of the church and others attend the pastor’s Bible study class in Grace Center and then participate in the worship service. “What draws Castle and others,” Colvin adds, “is the welcoming atmosphere. Everybody feels included.”