Daughter's blood sugar was sky high this morning. After angry denials and a lie, she finally told me she was getting food out of the freezer at her house. I'm frustrated with her, to say the least. I also know, though, that on some level she is testing to see if staff will keep her safe. They aren't doing very well on this test.
I have a couple of members who are mad because they want to see me, not their care group leaders when they are sick. I had a woman walk out of worship Sunday because she was upset over the lyrics of a hymn and all the men being installed to the ruling board. She was right, the lyrics in the hymn were very sexist. I selected the hymn from a hymnal that used very inclusive language. I don't know where the woman who puts together the PowerPoint slides found the version she used. One of the first things I had Administrative Assistant do when we got into the office this week was to send the correct lyrics to our PowerPoint volunteer, with the instructions to get rid of the others. I happen to know that the nominating committee approached many women about serving on the board, but they all declined. I have some ideas about how to improve the situation next year, but after I train the nominating committee, I leave.
I have a man preparing to launch an attack on the board Saturday at his first meeting as a member. He doesn't think we are doing enough for mission. The overall budget went up 3.4% this year. The mission budget, 6.25%, which was the biggest percentage increase in the budget. We had some money left beyond what we need in reserves, so we are splitting it evenly between mission and capital improvements. Over 15% of our budget goes to mission, and the extra money we are giving them increases their budget by 20%. We have started two new mission projects at the church in the last two years. We are involved with Habitat, mentoring local elementary students, and filling backpacks with food for them to take home for the weekend. We provide food for a soup kitchen once a month. We collect coats in the fall. Our quilters give quilts to people struggling with illness. We do a mission trip annually. Could we do more? Of course, but our mission is growing in exciting ways, and to come in and tell the people who have been making sure that our mission support is growing that they aren't doing enough isn't a very good idea. I have a couple of other men who didn't want him on the board because of his obsession with mission. They are already reacting to things he might or might not say. The mission man has also asked us to print out all the board documents for him, he doesn't want to read them online like everyone else does. The documents can combine for 15-30 pages a month. I guess environmental stewardship is not a priority for him.
Tomorrow is my day off, and I will be spending it in prayer as I prepare for the day long board meeting on Saturday. I think I'm going to need it.
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