If you’ve been around Terra for awhile, you know we’ve talking about this adjustment for some time now, but just have not found the right moment to make it official. That time has come and we are excited about the new opportunities that this move affords us.

For those who like the fine print, the key reasons for making this adjustment now are:

1. Revolution Hall is scheduling more afternoon/early evening events and banquets. Moving the service times allows us to be a good tenant by finishing our services an hour earlier and freeing up the space for them to set up (sometimes even as we tear-down!).

2. On busier Sundays, the 10AM service feels pretty full, while the NOON service remains wide open for growth. This is largely due to the fact that parents with kids are forced into attending the earlier service. Moving the times allows us to add kids programs to both services. Which brings us to number 3 . . .

3. Our education space is feeling the impact of our families having more and more kids and expanding our physical footprint is not an option at this time. By adjusting our service times earlier by just one hour, we are making it possible to offer Terra Kids at both services, thereby spreading out our families with children to both the 1st and 2nd service. (Parents and Teachers . . . full details on this move can be found in the Parents group and the Teachers group here on the City).

What can you do to help . . .

1. If you are a parent of children in Terra Kids, please fill out THIS SURVEY which is helping us plan for offering two kids programs. (Many thanks to the parents who have already filled this out!)

2. If you are a VOLUNTEER in any way, please fill out THIS SURVEY so that we can make adjustments to the various serving schedules.

3. We fully understand that many volunteers will need to shift when they serve, based on these new service times. Without a doubt, gaps will appear. This is a great time to step forward to serve if you are not already doing so. (message me here on the City for current needs).

4. Roll with us and offer grace when things don’t go perfectly during this transition. There will be bugs to work out in the first couple months. Thanks in advance for your patience.

This past Sunday, we continued in our Spiritual Discipline Series as we looked at the Stewardship of our Time and Money. (Listen to the teaching HERE). I put Terra Nova’s Stewardship Pastor, Paul Gordon, in front of a camera and asked him to share his heart on Financial Stewardship. This video was shown in the middle of the teaching on this topic yesterday.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I also asked Paul to pull together some statistics from Terra Nova Church’s giving patterns. I only had time to share a couple of them on Sunday during the teaching time, but here is the rest of what Paul’s research on the giving patterns at Terra Nova showed. I know that some of you are bored as soon as you hear the word “statistic”, while others eat this stuff up. If you would ever like to learn more about how Terra’s Finance Team works, how we do budgeting, auditing etc. don’t hesitate to email Paul Gordon.

Terra Nova specific stats::

63% OF HOUSEHOLDS SUPPORT TERRA FINANCIALLY

37% OF THE HOUSEHOLDS AT TERRA DO NOT GIVE.

Of these:
The top 10% of households comprise 53% of the operating budget.
The top 20% of households comprise 74% of the operating budget.

The top 10% of giving households comprise 42% of the operating budget.
The top 20% of giving households comprise 61% of the operating budget.

The average giving household gives about $2,500 per year    or   $48 per week   or   $215 per month.

The median giving household gives about $1,220 per year    or   $23 per week   or   $106 per month.

Stats from America in general::

·       70% of people in America live paycheck to paycheck.
- The Wall Street Journal

·       17% of Americans do not have enough savings to cover 1 week without a paycheck
- USA Today

·       The estimated average credit-card debt per US card-holding households is $9,312.
- Time Magazine

·       The personal savings rate in the US has now fallen to -2.2% – meaning people are spending more than they make — the lowest in 60 years.  – The Department of Commerce

·       The average American has 2.7 bank credit cards, 3.8 retail credit cards and 1.1 debit cards, for a total of 7.6 cards per cardholder.  – CardWeb.com

General Stats from American Churches::

·       Overspending: 40 percent of church members say they overspend monthly; also, 40 percent of church members pay more than $2,000 a year in interest, not including their mortgage.  – The United Methodist Foundation

·       Christian Wealth and World Poverty:  On average, American Christians enjoy an annual household income of $42,409, while 1.2 billion of the world’s poorest people must survive on $1 a day.  – Sider, Ronald. The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience. Books and Culture

·       Giving Not a Priority: It is estimated that Christians worldwide have personal incomes totaling more than 16 trillion but give only 2 percent, to Christian causes.  – International Bulletin of Missionary Research

·       A Reachable Goal: “According to the Borgen Project, annual expenditures of $19 billion between now and 2015 could eliminate global starvation and malnutrition.  Another $12 billion per year over that same time period could provide education for every child on earth.  And an additional $15 billion each year could provide universal access to clean water and sanitation.”  – Stanford Social Innovation Review

Thanks to Brandon Balkenbush at Living Stones Church in Reno, NV for sending me these stats.

In regards to establishing personal budgets there are several tools available depending on your personal desires.

• Many folks find the budgeting tools that are available on several personal budgeting softwares helpful and useful.  These include Quicken Money, iCash, BankTree and others.  Two downsides are these software programs are (i) they cost money and (ii) they may not be customizable enough.
• Web-based options that are generally free and do many of the same features of the above software packages are popular too.  There are some neat features of these programs including the ability to automatically download and aggregate your financial information from your banks, credit cards, lenders, etc.  You have to be comfortable with identity security however to use these.  Mint.com is the by far the most popular and is a great website to explore and learn.  Here is a link to a website that compares 6 different web based budgeting tools.
• If you are hands-on, don’t desire downloading of information, and prefer very customized budgeting tools – Excel is unmatched in this regard.  Biggest downside is you need to be comfortable in excel.  I’ve attached a few excel sheets that I’ve helped others set up.  Feel free to explore these and follow-up with any questions.   [Note that each file has several tabs to explore]

Above any tool out there – it is important to remember that budgeting, and tracking a budget, is a discipline.  No tool or software will do this work for you – it should be an active part of your living.  Technology can make it more efficient and easier to use, but it cannot replace our intentionality toward the work

Also a budget is just that, a tool.  Not a strict guideline.  However here are three valuable steps in understanding the purpose of a budget in my opinion.  It might help to think through a budget in this order:

1.       Figure out how much you feel called to give consistently and regularly?  This is the intentionally piece Ed mentioned Sunday.  God is intentional with his generosity – so should we.  In order to figure this piece out – seek out God through prayer, scripture and what others are doing too.

2.       Determine how much you need to live on – and then live on that.

3.       Any income received above the above 2 figures could  be:

a.       saved for future needs (retirement, child schooling, house purchases, debt reduction, etc.).  Proverbs teaching us the wise man saves for his families needs.  But we are also taught in the New Testament to not store up treasures on earth.  So we need to save wisely, but not find comfort or reliance on our savings accounts.

b.      give more away.  As God blesses us with more than we need, we should likewise reflect that generosity toward others.

c.       Discretionary Spending.  God also is pleased when we enjoy the toil of our labors and find pleasure in life – We should find ways enjoy what God richly provides us – but not to excess.

Then regularly, perhaps annually, review the above steps and adjust your generosity, your living expenses, your savings as you feel appropriate.

In order to do this the most effective way, and be able to be the most generous we can – It is important to have good records of how you allocated, or spent, your resources.

Above all else, don’t forget to commit your efforts to God in prayer – it is the offering of your heart that matters most.

Would you be interested in a class on managing personal finances if Terra Nova offered one? Let us know.

Brian Hofmeister painting

Great opening on “Black Friday”. It’s an exhibit that everyone should see. The artists are Brian Hofmeister and mi Chelle Vara . Brian is a pastor at Christ Church in Guilderland. His beautiful paintings capture the essence of turn of the century (1900) architecture in Schenectady. Brian’s talent for blending colors on canvas makes him one of the regions emerging artists you have to see. And the abstract metal sculptures by miChelle interspersed among brian’s paintings make this a most interesting exhibit you don’t want to miss! It’s on display through January.

This Friday night is our next gallery opening. Show opens at 5PM and runs till 9PM. Our featured painter this month, Carole Warburton is showing her “Vanishing Barns” series. Why barns? In the early 1600’s the first farms were established in NY State. Farmers built timber barns using the styles and techniques they brought with them from Europe. Carole says “I have chosen Barns as a theme for my most recent group of paintings in the hopes of heightening awareness of their importance and the precious heritage they represent in New York State.”
Also on display is work by featured Photographer Ann Fantauzzi. She has captured the wildlife and culture of Namibia on recent visits to Africa. You won’t want to miss it. As always this gallery opening is in conjunction with TROY NIGHT OUT. Be sure to check out the map of other galleries and shops that are open.

Terra Nova Gallery annual Abolition/Injustice show September 24th thru October 27th.
The Gallery had a successful opening last month with photography by Gina Meola and an exhibit about child sex slavery by Bethany Marcelle. Gallery visitors came away from this event pensively; you are left with a sense of the world’s injustice in your gut and a desire to do something about it. Not often have I viewed art and been so moved. 
Responds Gina Meola when asked of her experience at the Gallery opening: “In my opinion, it isn’t so much the experience itself that matters, but what you take away from it and then do with it. This was an opportunity to push forward in my art, and share the core of why it was created – God’s call to love. I’m so grateful to Terra Nova for opening this door, and eagerly anticipate what lies ahead.”

New Show Friday October 30
Come join us for this month’s Terra Nova gallery opening on Friday October 30,  featuring photography by Ann Fantauzzi  titled Eyes to Namibia  and a painting collection by Carole Warburton titled Vanishing Barns.

Skye Farm Camp is looking for volunteers!

Skye Farm Camp is a children’s summer camp run by the United Methodist Church just outside Warrensburg NY. For seven weeks during the summer kids play, learn, make crafts, swim, canoe, and learn about God. For one week during the summer Skye Farm hosts a Special Needs camp for adults with a variety of disabilities ranging from mental to physical. During this week for the safety of the campers the camper/counselor ratio needs to be much higher. Next week is Special Needs camp and Skye Farm is in disparate need of volunteers to help with the camp. If you or anyone you know could give up even a day or two to work with this amazing group of campers it would be greatly appreciated. I have worked at Skye Farm for years and I always look forward to the Special Needs Camp. I am constantly in awe of the campers zest for life. They all love to sing, dance, and they don’t always have all the words but many of them become very emotional at worship when they learn about God’s love. Every meal is their favorite and they whole heartily enjoy doing dishes. If you think you might want to spend some time with next week with Special Needs camp you can call Skye Farm at 518.494.3432.

Also if this week isn’t free for you the camp could always use volunteers during the rest of the summer.

“Will is doing much better today. His fever has pretty much stayed below 100 since 7am this morning. We should know what he has by tomorrow am. Barring any new fevers, we could go home on antibiotics as early as Wednesday morning. Thank you all for praying.”
Sam
Today’s counts:
WBC: 0.3 (Normal 6.0-12.5)
ANC: 0 (Normal 2500-3000)
HGB: 9.3 (Normal 10.5-13.5
HCT: 27.0 (Normal 31.0-40.1)
PLT: 42,000 (Normal 130,000-350,000)

Continue to keep him in prayer. You can check out his online journal here::

When I visited the family at the hospital yesterday, I asked them what they wanted me to share with their Terra Nova family. In typical unselfish Armstrong fashion–they told me to tell everyone to go donate blood somewhere as Will is the recipients of more blood transfusions than they can count and feeding the blood bank helps so many like Will.

Update on wednesday morning showing some sense of resolution to this::

“So, he had an infection in his port line. The latest cultures drawn show that the infection is gone which is good news. He’ll be sent home on IV antibiotics today and they want to see him again on Friday in the Clinic. His ANC is still 0, so he basically has NO immune system. Our goal now is to keep infection and fever away by limiting visitors, good hand washing, stay home or in the car, wear a mask when we leave the hospital, etc… He received a blood transfusion yesterday and will get platelets today before they send him home.
He did get his Vincristine yesterday. So translated this means he got the last dose of chemo in the Delayed Intensification phase and should start Long Term Maintenance as soon as his counts rebound.
Boy, you wouldn’t know there was anything wrong with him if you saw him playing here in the hospital toyroom. Well, I guess his cute little bald head and face mask he’s wearing give an indication of something…but he’s in good spirits. He woke up this morning and said, “Hey Mommy! Let’s go home!”
~Angie”

I accept that ed’s notes from the basement are ed’s and may be messy or hard to follow. think of it as more a pollock or a rothko than any realist. it may be obsessive or repetitive. it may have mistakes or typos along the way. think life. clicking /agree/ on any piece of software installation or webpage signifies you agree with these terms and conditions. oh, and i accept it is rated pg-13.

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We get together. We worship. We hear. We declare. We express. We know. We believe. Jesus.

Then we walk away. That’s hard. It felt so right. And out there is where it all seems to change… There are not candles and bands to follow me around. That sense of church is not portable. It is the church gathered. It is the place where we talk Jesus first, Jesus plain, Jesus in art. it is Kingdom and the King is there. Sure it is fractured…duh, we’re there! The fractured part only matters if we lie to ourselves and God and pretend we are not fractured and so we never work on healing. ah, how the Spirit gets too close to home for preacher’s to stand sometimes.

So, here is what i know. I love church [ed, are you just saying you love church because you saw the church's webpage?]

i love church. Every bit. the small, stupid stuff, like getting to call a friend “steak”. the small serious stuff while getting ready for the service and seeing it all. people climbing the little submarine ladder up to the sound booth. and everyone seems happy. there is passion. it is really good to me. and when the service goes on, people are engaged. we start in the space and we make it sacred not because it has a cross on top or is off the city tax roles. the place is sacred because where two or more are gathered in his name, as the christians, when the brothers and sisters huddle around him…he is there. and we worship annd pray and we hear and we respond and we know we want more [i can still hear my heart singing with Scott and the band "there must be more than this" as if i heard some disembodied voice on my left calling it out and saw our bass player du jour, steak gardener, singing too] and we find more of jesus. i know when the brothers and sisters who will be on stage that day gather and pray, that is what we do – we pray for more of jesus to be revealed. well, to give full disclosure since there is no window on the green room, people eat croissants or “freedom rolls” if we still have some deep beef with the french. except for the woman who snubbed me in paris when i asked her directions and the cop, also in paris who gave me a love tap with his boot when i was sleeping in the train station, i have nothing against the french…but i digress. we also take communion together back there. they tried it on stage. drummers are the only ones with enough coordination to multi-task like that. the matzo crumbs blowing out from the vocalists would be horrible. so we do it then. we usually pray. what we pray, and i know it is passionate, is that Christ be revealed…he be greater…we show him with all we have and are. we pray he gives us the strength not to worry the worries of someone on stage…what do people think of my skills, of what i did….let’s face it, we don’t want to do poorly for alot of reasons, but we want to do well for one. we ask that not us, but jesus be revealed. it felt right reciting together the last words spoken. our voices all saying the one thing, in truth, with passion, with faith. “christ has died, christ has risen, christ will come again”

then it was beautiful. we get together and see Jesus behind worship. we hear from the spirit behind words. we experience together what that is. we angle our souls at God’s calling. we see him afresh. we chase Jesus. it is wonderful to gather. but we must journey. “walk alone” pilgrim moments lay ahead. we know there is a place where we will gather. a place for the church to be forever gathered. a place where we see him not for moments more clearly, but as he is. we will never be bored adoring eternal beauty. we will never tire of infinite love. we will never be disatisfied living with perfection. but that’s heaven. and this ain’t that.

it is an icy january day in the northeast. it’s cold too. i am sure people think it is odd to see me snowblowing in the icy wind early on sunday. i hope they don’t think i am doing this to show up at service. would they understand if i told them what gathering with the pilgrim saints at a night club was really like? probably…if we ever really got to the point where we could talk and listen to each other. but we pass too fast in suburbia. kids off to school. rush to work. take an excercise class if you’re ambitious. get kids to more extra-currics in one night than i took in 8 years of college. sneak in a curb your enthusiam, daily show or part of a movie. who has time to watch a whole one? anyway, it’s icy and i am snowblowing with the snowblower my mom and her husband sent me. she does not want me to hurt my back shoveling snow.

anyway, it’s cold up here and i go to church, have a great experience and now i am out there again. in the cold. but i am still with the center of the church, Christ. i feel it at the arts center dropping the kids off for lessons. i am stressed, sure. this is not a planned event…this is life. i’ve got a friend’s daughter with us…on crutches, my ‘xtra’ son denny with me. i have a friend’s dog over, but that’s under control. it’s just life. but there are wonderful unplanned moments with God out here too. there are the pieces of discovery of who he is and exclamation in poetry and theology of that, there is what i see and struggle and celebrate and the interaction with all the folks around me. there are moments of community, tribal connection. out here is where it happens. it is incarnation. me on a journey. fresh ground with God.

that’s all i got.