hello all. I'm in a situation that i just don't quite know what to do. we got a new pastor a year ago. it started, the pastor wanted to meet with everyone, so i did, i ended walking out of the meeting. the pastors husband was at the meeting, and he started to go off on some things that happened at the church before we were there. He (not the pastor) started to bring some things up that I said was done and buried and I was not going to go thru that again, but he wouldn't stop, seeing that, I got up and said I don't have to take this, and while taking two steps out, he started in by saying "go ahead, run away like you have all your life"...this person didn't even know me...and to think I spent almost 2 hours helping them move into the parish house, me and only 2 to 3 others.
after a few weeks I cooled off....i was one of the people that run the local meal program, feeding on aveage 150 one night a week...there were just a few of us, and we got tired, working 2 days to fix the meals, we had been going for 12 years, and thru 2 pastors. one of the things was that the pastor was always there, and meet and talked with people, wonderful outreach, the new pastor, there only 3 or 4 times....then the new pastor does not list an after hours number to be contacted at...I could not believe it, but no where in the church stuff is there an after hours contact number....the needs of the flock does not end at 5 pm, and not available on fri-sun.
well, our meal program took a month or so off, one person could not come back due to health, so just a very few left but we thought we would try...well when we have our restart meeting, the pastor says the quality of our meals was low, and if we did better meals, we would have more people and they would pay more...first, we don't care what people throw into the donation plate, and the food is good, maybe it's basic, not fancy, it is good food...a menu was presented, which would require alot of work for those few that were left, and would have pushed the cost per plate to over $5, which we could handle, but not for a long time...well, that caused the remainder of the group to say no, they worked hard, to provide good meals, and now told the quality was low, and propose meals that would take alot of time (how about frying 150 pieces of chicken, making gravy from the drippings and then pealing potatoes to mash, plus a fancy desert)....and then say to fix something better for people will pay more...then the pastor recommended to operate only on rsvp....never heard of a church doing that for a meal, plus who was going to answer the phone...so...
the remainder of the group left, so now it's just me. Then one of the ladys were talking to me that does another food program, and come to find out, we now charge so much for the janitor to clean after a funeral dinner (a pretty nice sum, plus the church already pays the wage), and that the pastor requested money from the meal doantion to pay for the cleaning of the hall, but also $100 for their services doing the funeral....this was to come out for the donation for the meal...after all the other came out, almost not enough to pay for the food...that fund always carried a surplus since sometimes there were small donations for funeral meals. We never charged a cleaning fee, and many times, the pastors did not charge for a service, since they were already working for the church.
so, with all of this, i don't know if i can continue...i continue to help for the people in the community, we deliver to shut ins, we have older couples that come, and families with childen that don't have money, and some families come and get carry out to take home, since they don't want to get the whole family there. I also am a member of a group with only a few members that do commodies for the community, and do the big food semi that comes twice a year, and other things...but it is unbearable at the moment. Staff parrish will do nothing, matter of fact they believe the pastor is doing a wonderful job, but none on staff parrish help with any outreach activities.
what to do ?
after a few weeks I cooled off....i was one of the people that run the local meal program, feeding on aveage 150 one night a week...there were just a few of us, and we got tired, working 2 days to fix the meals, we had been going for 12 years, and thru 2 pastors. one of the things was that the pastor was always there, and meet and talked with people, wonderful outreach, the new pastor, there only 3 or 4 times....then the new pastor does not list an after hours number to be contacted at...I could not believe it, but no where in the church stuff is there an after hours contact number....the needs of the flock does not end at 5 pm, and not available on fri-sun.
well, our meal program took a month or so off, one person could not come back due to health, so just a very few left but we thought we would try...well when we have our restart meeting, the pastor says the quality of our meals was low, and if we did better meals, we would have more people and they would pay more...first, we don't care what people throw into the donation plate, and the food is good, maybe it's basic, not fancy, it is good food...a menu was presented, which would require alot of work for those few that were left, and would have pushed the cost per plate to over $5, which we could handle, but not for a long time...well, that caused the remainder of the group to say no, they worked hard, to provide good meals, and now told the quality was low, and propose meals that would take alot of time (how about frying 150 pieces of chicken, making gravy from the drippings and then pealing potatoes to mash, plus a fancy desert)....and then say to fix something better for people will pay more...then the pastor recommended to operate only on rsvp....never heard of a church doing that for a meal, plus who was going to answer the phone...so...
the remainder of the group left, so now it's just me. Then one of the ladys were talking to me that does another food program, and come to find out, we now charge so much for the janitor to clean after a funeral dinner (a pretty nice sum, plus the church already pays the wage), and that the pastor requested money from the meal doantion to pay for the cleaning of the hall, but also $100 for their services doing the funeral....this was to come out for the donation for the meal...after all the other came out, almost not enough to pay for the food...that fund always carried a surplus since sometimes there were small donations for funeral meals. We never charged a cleaning fee, and many times, the pastors did not charge for a service, since they were already working for the church.
so, with all of this, i don't know if i can continue...i continue to help for the people in the community, we deliver to shut ins, we have older couples that come, and families with childen that don't have money, and some families come and get carry out to take home, since they don't want to get the whole family there. I also am a member of a group with only a few members that do commodies for the community, and do the big food semi that comes twice a year, and other things...but it is unbearable at the moment. Staff parrish will do nothing, matter of fact they believe the pastor is doing a wonderful job, but none on staff parrish help with any outreach activities.
what to do ?