August 26, 2018

Transition Sunday

Today my church went from the building we've occupied for 24 years to our new meeting space. Getting there was a process that has taken about a year and a half, with lots of planning and lots of work by lots of people, so I thought I might describe it for you.

We are a small Mennonite congregation that has been in existence for 37 years. Our group has numbered 50 at times, now we have about 30 at Sunday worship.

The building we were in was a built in 1915. It had housed an Evangelical United Brethren church, which had merged with the United Methodist church in the 50's (I think). But there is a bigger United Methodist church just a block away, so the former EUBs sold us their building. But in the last couple years, the congregation decided this large, old building was too expensive and too time consuming to maintain. Also a local developer offered us quite a decent price for the building.

So we looked for a suitable space. We found out that a Presbyterian church a couple blocks from our building had a large space they had used for youth functions that they were hoping to rent. So, many meetings ensued, many, many details arranged, and today we started worship in our old building and midway through the service walked to the Presbyterian church.


Several people from their congregation were at the door to welcome us. The sign out front said "Welcome Mennonites and all". They sent a lovely bouquet which graced our new pulpit.


Life as a congregation is always about people learning to be church together. We Mennos and the Presbyterians who have so graciously welcomed us know we will learn together how to be the Church in the world together. It probably won't be a 100 percent smooth road, but there are a great many positives for both congregations. It seems like a good solution for us.

August 11, 2018

At Carrier, the Factory Trump Saved, Morale Is Through the Floor - NYT

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/business/economy/carrier-trump-absenteeism-morale.html

Seems Carrier is having problems with absenteeism and getting production where they want. The workers feel like the rug may be pulled out from underneath them at any time, so they call in.

My brother has worked for a comptetitor of Carrier's for three decades. Four days after a tornado destroyed Lennox's Marshalltown, Iowa factory, Lennox said they would rebuild, not move production out of the country. I expect that sort of commitment to the employees' futures will make problems like Carriers less common there. When people give the bulk of their time and energy and lives to a corporation, they not only deserve decent wages and benefits - they deserve to have security and respect. So what if the execs have to give up a second vacation home or some huge stock bonuses. We all have to make sacrifices to make this country work, dontcha know.

from the article:

What’s ailing Carrier isn’t weak demand. Furnace sales are strong, and managers have increased overtime and even recalled 150 previously laid-off workers. Instead, employees share a looming sense that a factory shutdown is inevitable — that Carrier has merely postponed the closing until a more politically opportune moment.

In some ways, the situation is a metaphor for blue-collar work and life in the United States today. Paychecks are a tad fatter and the economic picture has brightened slightly, but no one feels particularly secure or hopeful.
“People still don’t trust Carrier,” said Paul Roell, a group leader who has worked at the plant for 19 years. “They still have the warehouses and the factory in Mexico, and they can move down whenever. We all know that Carrier has the money to do whatever they want.”

Several times in late July and early August, so many workers were missing that the furnace line had to shut down in midday — even more disruptive than an early-morning halt. That hadn’t happened in years, employees said. Some workers cite illness, while others claim days under the Family and Medical Leave Act, saying they are taking care of sick relatives.