New Church Pictorial Directory
Luke 10:18b …..rejoice that your names are written in heaven
The Spiritual
Fellowship Class System accepted the challenge to organize the production of a new church directory. We realized that we needed
many hands as well as knowledge, so we put together a Task Force consisting of class leaders and persons who had worked on
the previous church directory.
Olan Mills was chosen as the
photographer and in April, some seventeen of us met with Edward Adelman, the representative from our area. Participating
in this meeting were Sisters J. Bryan and E. Gibson, from Finance as well as E. Jackson, the ‘New Sheriff’ and
chair of COM. Olan Mills were the photographers used by the New York Conference at the 2008 Annual Conference.
Olan Mills assigned us a total of seven dates because of the size
of the congregation which we assessed at about 400 persons in attendance on any Sunday. Our dates included
different days of the week running during the months of June, July and August. On the two Sundays assigned,
we processed the greatest numbers of participants. Our goal for the directory was 300 appointments.
We reached 252 appointments, totaling some 500 persons. We also added an additional date in September.
We hope to have the completed directory by year-end to move through the 141st anniversary of Springfield Gardens
United Methodist Church.
There are many advantages
and gifts from Olan Mills that accrued to the church, based on the number of participants. Benefits included:
the picture taking was free; all family members were included; each person or family photographed will get a free directory
plus a free 8 by 10 portrait; the completed directory will include pages dedicated to members in the military, a page for
the staff, and several pages for our various ministries.
Ministries
were urged to sign up to have their group pictures taken and many were more than willing to tell their stories in pictures.
Brothers David Stuart, Dennis Stuart and Mitchell Hardy were the group photographers.
The main purpose of the pictorial church directory is the building of
community. We often sing “I am not forgotten, God knows my name.” But
in order to be effective in ministry here on earth it helps when we know each other by name.
Fellowship is enhanced when we can match a name with the face, when we can call by name the person we sit beside each
Sunday.
And so we thank all those persons who participated in one way or another. You should be receiving your
pictorial directory very soon.
Mary Stuart Flowers and Members of the Church Directory Task Force
