Girdwood Chapel -- ChapelNews

I was recently asked by a couple of Girdwood Chapel’s faithful supporters for an update on Girdwood Chapel and the Doepken Family (thanks Debra of Covenant UMC in Fort Wayne and Jack of Cottonwood UMC in Arizona).

First, let me tell you about Girdwood Chapel and its construction project.  As most of you know, we’ve had three summers of work teams at Girdwood and have constructed a beautiful building.  The walls, the roof, and most of the electrical work are done.   The next big, labor-intensive task we have is putting up sheetrock.  While we have been hoping to do that over the winter, we have yet to get any heat in the building.  Therefore, very little has been done.  The reason we don’t have any heat is quite simple.   The heating and ventilation company we have been using has been very patient with us; working around our sometimes sporadic cash flow and trying not to be in the way of work teams.  At this point, they are busy and we are waiting on them.  We hope to have heat sometime in February or March and then can make it a little more attractive for workers to come and put up the sheetrock.

However, in spite of the lack of heat, we’ve been using our new church office as both as a part-time office and a Sunday School room for the upper elementary class.  There are some Sundays (January 13, for example) where our little, portable heaters just couldn’t get that space warm enough for Sunday School.  We’re hoping a warming trend will come through any minute.  But since it’s 7 degrees out now, I’m not sure that’s happening.

I know this is not as much activity that our former workteam members would like to see.   It’s not as much as we’d like to see.  However, we feel we’re doing what we can while waiting for our contractors.

In the summer of 2008 we are planning on just one workteam, from Annandale UMC near Washington DC.  This church is coming up with a huge team that will tackle all of our siding and soffit work and will bring a big team.  This is the only construction team we’re working with for a couple reasons.  First, after three summers of housing workteams, our church members are looking forward to having full use of their homes this summer.  We do celebrate and appreciate all the work that has been done, but we know that eight more teams was going to make for another long summer.  The second, and bigger, reason is financial.  Workteams, generally, do a lot of work in the time that they are here and we have needed to have supplies on-hand to keep them going.  That has meant a prior financial commitment from the people of Girdwood Chapel before the workteams arrive.  Therefore, if we had committed to eight teams in 2008, that would have meant that, by early winter of 2007 we would have been committing to have a certain amount of cash on hand for the supplies those teams needed.  However, we thought it was more important for us to first direct cash to our big-ticket items of heating, electric, and water -- things which work teams cannot do for us.

The reason it’s working out with the team from the Washington DC area is that they are not only funding their travel to Alaska but are also funding the supplies they will work with.  This is an extra $23,500 expense on their part.  This frees up $23,500 from our budget for non-workteam projects that are at the top of our list.

We have had a great time with our workteams and have done great work.  This summer, because of the reasons stated above, had to be different.   Next summer, however, might be different and we could be looking for some team to come up the the Last Frontier to help us with finnish work.

Financially, we’re not doing so badly.  We had a capital campaign in November and, in a report to the congregation on January 13, we announced that we had collected $78,000 in pledges.  That, coupled with a “two-for-one” challenge grant, brings our total to almost $120,000.  We are still looking for another $22,000 in pledges.  This, with the challenge grant, brings us up to $150,000 locally. 

The goal with this new pledge drive is to get us into the new facility in early winter 2008.   We desperately need the space for ministry and, as pastor, I have to admit that our church folks are somewhat weary of the construction process at this point.  We want to be in that new space.  We know that God will provide.  But, I occasionally get the question, “How long, O Lord?”

Ministry is, as many of you know, still going on.  We do not have our Sunday evening worship anymore as our two very talented musicians left the state and we haven’t found replacements for them in our small town.  We are moving toward working with the Food Bank of Alaska to have our church serve as a pick-up site.  We are also working with Circle Farms of Washington State to be a pick-up site for Organic Food in our community.  Both of these projects will bring new persons into the church on a regular basis.  A final ministry in the works I wanted to tell you about is an after school program for children in grades 5 and 6.  Previously, our youth group was for those in 5th grade and up.  Now that we have more Junior High Students it makes sense to us to have the 5th and 6th graders meet at a different time since they are at a different place spiritually and socially.

Let me give you a little update on the Doepkens as of this January.

Our twins, Abigail and Bethany are coming up on their first birthday next week.  They are doing well and are gaining some weight.  We appreciate all the prayers offered on behalf of Bethany for her club feet.  They are looking good and we think it’s a miracle how normal they appear.  She will be in a brace for another two years as her feet are given time to grow in their normal positions.  She wears the brace for 14 hours a day.

Our other twins, Moriah and Susannah, are also doing well.  They are in fourth grade and love their teacher.  They are both active in many things, including piano, soccer, cross-country running, and skiing.  Moriah is still our tom-boy and Susannah is our “girly-girl.”  They are a joy to have around and it’s fun watching them grow up.

Samuel is 12 1/2 and is as tall as I am.  He’s in 7th grade and we’re impressed by how he is doing academically.  He, too, does soccer and skiing.  He has taken up the cello and performs in the school orchestra.

Julie is working half-time at the local school library and is spending the other half of her time being mom at home.  She’s been on the local Library Task force that has overseen the construction of a new library which should be complete later this year.  She’s also on the board of the local daycare.  She’s a regular at our Wednesday Evening Women’s Bible Study.

I, Jim, am finishing up my eighth year in Girdwood as Pastor.  It’s been a wonderful ride so far and I hope to be here several more years. 

I was talking with another United Methodist pastor about churches we’ve served.  He mentioned one appointment he served and said it would always be dear to him because that’s where his kids really grew up and where he felt like he was “home.”  Girdwood is that place, so far, for me and the rest of the family.  We’ve been here long enough to feel like real ministry has been done and long enough to feel like we’ve really been a part of the community during this time.  In the United Methodist Church, we’re appointed year to year.  We know that and we know that, eventually, we’ll be asked to move to another ministry setting.  But, for now, we are thankful that we’ve been appointed year to year...right here.

God bless you all.

Peace,

Jim Doepken