Annual Conference is upon us. Opening worship will be at Custer Road UMC in Plano on June 3, 7:00 PM. All United Methodist members and friends are invited to attend this exciting service. A number of people from our church, including our youth group, will be attending. On Monday evening, our choir will be joining other choirs from around the conference, to provide music for the Service of Ordination that will be occurring at St. Andrews UMC in Plano at 7 PM. It is hoped that many of our members will attend this service to support our wonderful choir. Visiting our sister churches can also be a real blessing.

Lake Cities UMC delegates are Susan Anderson and Virgil Aldag. Patricia Gilchrist will be a delegate representing North Central District. Dyan Dietz will be our clergy representative. Our team will represent our interest at Annual Conference during the day meetings on June 4 and 5.

I will not be able to attend Annual Conference this year due to military obligations. I am thankful for our District Superintendent, Dr. Frank Alegria, for granting me permission to miss conference this year. Much of the month of June will be spent on military obligations, however, I have full confidence in our staff to assist with whatever need may come forward. Our church is truly blessed to have so many outstanding individuals eager to serve.

Two weeks ago the church staff submitted its year-end report to the conference office. This report was forwarded to our denominational officials for record purposes. I thought that I would share with you some interesting statistical information. I made a correction to the church expense reduction percentage that you will want to note.

The church’s membership is currently 683. This is a drop of membership by nearly 16% since its reported high mark of 812 members back in 2004.

The church’s total expense for 2011 was $191,051. This reflects a drop by 62% of its expenses since its reported high mark of $501,757 back in 2005.

The church’s apportionment asking this past year was $44,462. This amount reflects a drop in apportionment asking by 24% since its reported high mark of $58,940 in 2007.

The church’s average worship attendance for 2011 was 250 which reflect a near 5% increase in worship attendance over the past two years since its reported low point in 2009 of 239.

The church took in 32 members this past year which reflects the best year of new membership growth since 2006.

While these numbers may initially give the impression that the church has dramatically declined over the past decade, the good news reflected in this report is that the church is actually on an upward swing! Thanks to the dedicated effort of the church staff and its lay leaders, many have worked hard to control excessive expenses and be intentional in ministry. This process of cost control has been of immense help to the church’s budget.

Another area that I am excited to report is the launching of the church’s Capital Campaign Team. This team is made up of the following members: Mark Klingele, John Bailey, Larry Terrill, Kathy Lantrip, Keith Smith, Karen Morris, Loyed Ezzell, Jeff Stout, Rosie Alexander, and Sue Aldag. These volunteers are tasked to explore the hopes and dreams associated with the church’s facilities. They will be soliciting responses in the near future. Once their mission is complete they will make a report to the church which may, or may not, include a formal plan of action. Exciting days lie ahead!

Thanks again for everyone’s dedication to the ministry of Lake Cities UMC and its mission of expanding the Kingdom of God in its surrounding community.

Together in Christ,

Pastor Rene’