Report of the Executive Director, May 9, 2009
United Methodist Union of Greater Detroit
to the Board of Trustees May 9, 2009
Several years ago, a long-forgotten comedian offered a trio of promises that should always be received with suspicion.
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“Of course I’ll respect you in the morning.”
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“The check is in the mail.”
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“I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
As concerns the first two, I feel no need to comment. But the third occasions an observation related to my current employment. Not that I work for the government. But, as your Interim Executive Director, I work for an organization that, to outsiders, sometimes feels like the government. Because to pastors and local church laity, hierarchical systems (like Synods, Dioceses and Annual Conferences) sometimes promise the moon but seldom deliver a star. Which is a cynics-eye view, of course, and largely untrue. But the idea persists, and even festers, whenever the worker-bees get together and grouse about the briefcase-carriers.
Suddenly, after 44 years in the union of worker-bees, I am a briefcase carrier. . . a bureaucrat. . .a denominational official. Susan Beaumont of the Alban Institute tells me I work for a “middle judicatory.” And she’s a consultant, meaning she gets paid a lot of money to know such things. Which she earns. Because she does.
But the move from worker-bee to briefcase-carrier is teaching me a few things. First, bureaucrats are people too. They sweat and strain like everybody else. They laugh and cry like everybody else. They love and serve the Lord like everybody else. And they care about the local church like everybody else. Maybe even more than everybody else. A District Superintendent once told me that his job ate him alive for the first three years. Then he realized that the things that kept him tossing and turning at 3:00 in the morning didn’t seem to disturb the sleep of the pastors and lay leaders of the churches where those “things” were occurring.
Second, any bureaucrats who promise less and deliver more turn popular wisdom on its head, while surprising and confounding folks in the process. And making deliveries is what turns a job such as mine from tolerable to enjoyable. True, the moon isn’t mine to give. And even if it were, it would be presently devalued by 30%. But I do have a pocketful of loose stars to pass around. And doing so brings me great pleasure. I’m not just talking dollars. I’m talking services. I’m talking resources. I’m talking wise counsel and sage advice. At the United Methodist Union we have a lot to offer, and being stingy is high on our list of mortal sins. At the very least, I can answer an inquiry timely, warmly, caringly. And most days I can do more. Now, five months into this role, the coat seems to fit and the shoes no longer pinch. Why? Because I have made some form of “professional connection” with 46 out of our 94 churches. Less than a third of those encounters saw any money switch hands. But enough happened to make it harder for those 46 pastors to say: “We pay them all that money and what do we have to show for it?” Sometimes “the government” does show up to help.
Now for a Few Specifics
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Our New Committee Structure- It’s alive. It’s working. You wouldn’t have this laundry list of reports and fund requests if it wasn’t working. Even as we gather, every committee on our new organizational chart has met. Most have spent dollars. Few have spun wheels. Praise God.
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About the Funds Requested- I endorse them all. I can speak to them all. We can afford them all. Most of them (save for the ratification of property repairs) are programmatic and missional. I could write lengthy paragraphs concerning them all. But our committee chairs should have the first word.
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About the Loans Requested- Concerning $500,000 for Farmington: First UMC, this is a refinancing package….5.25% interest….20 year amortization schedule….five year term with balloon payment….earning $121,418.00 in interest over the five year period. There are ample non-equity assets with which to make this loan. All seven officers and finance committee members surveyed responded affirmatively. As concerns the $12,000.00 to Detroit: Central UMC, this amount will be coupled with $50,000.00 from the Hudson Webber Foundation, $12,000.00 of Central’s own money, and a $6,000.00 United Methodist Union grant (total $80,000.00). The $12,000.00 loan will be added to Central’s present Wesley Fund loan of $121,000.00. This $80,000.00 will create a redevelopment plan to turn four floors of Central’s building to marketable mid-range housing (see my report March, 2009). The Wesley Fund Trustees recommend the $12,000/$6,000.00 loan-grant split.
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Pontiac: First United Methodist Church- The parsonage has been sold for $41,500.00 ($4,000.00 down, 7.5% interest, the remainder on a Land Contract with a five year balloon and a monthly payment of $262.21). - The church has an offer on it for $250,000.00 with a down payment of $35,000.00, a 6.25% interest rate, a five year term with balloon payment, and a monthly payment of $1,571.50. This deal may or may not go through. A successful distribution of contents was held on Saturday, April 4, 2009. Much was distributed. Twenty-one churches participated. Best of all, everybody played nice.
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Metropolitan United Methodist Church- Attached, find a copy of my letter to Bishop Keaton dated April 16, 2009. It should explain everything that has transpired since last we gathered. Still, the clock is ticking….I am working (pushing, prodding, agitating)….and the United Methodist Union is willing. Stay tuned. Hopefully, there will be a “come to Jesus” moment among the principal players before August.
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Annual Conference Reception- Guess what? We were committed by Rev. Ken Christler (a good commitment, really) to host a reception for the Annual Conference delegates on opening night, Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. I have arranged with Adrian College Food Service for a pie extravaganza (apple, cherry, blueberry, chocolate cream, banana cream and lemon meringue) plus fresh fruit, decaffeinated coffee and a punch fountain. Please, if you are attendees and/or delegates, sign up and show up for hospitality duty.
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Annual Meeting, Thursday, October 22, 2009 – Since it is now considered fashionable to send “save the date” cards, consider this as being yours. The place is Troy: First UMC. The time is 6:15 p.m. The speaker is Doug Pagitt. The caterer is new and good. Better yet, he is able. No cain need be raised. We will not run short on food (recall my early comment on the word “stingy” as being a mortal sin).
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What’s in the Pipeline? – Funds requests will slow down over the summer. Grosse Pointe UMC will ask us to consider a five year loan (refinancing). Franklin Community UMC and Wyandotte: First UMC will explore building issues (and our possible involvement). Pontiac: St. John UMC will rebuild a ramp. Our consultants are already playing a major role in the aforementioned projects. And a fascinating idea concerning a regional deacon based in one of our churches may emerge. Plenty to fill the briefcase.
Respectfully submitted,
Rev. Dr. William A. Ritter, Executive Director