We want to thank you for the love, support and meals we have received from our church family following the loss of our daughter Bridgett. You are a blessing to us. 

Jim & Kathy Warren and Family

What does money mean?

Once when I was on the Portland School Board I got a call from our Chief Financial Officer asking if I would authorize a $2,000,000 increase in our offer to the teacher’s union.  They needed 4 board members to agree to this and so I said yes, sure 2 mill wasn’t a big deal.  My husband who heard my end of the conversation as we were out on an evening walk at the time turned to me in shock.  “Are you just blithely spending millions now?”, he asked me a bit incredulously.  It made me think how in my personal finances this was an incomprehensible sum to just spend in a heart beat, but that as part of a 2 billion dollar organization the sum was a different matter. 

How we look at money so depends on our own personal histories, the size of the organizations we work with, and our own feelings and experiences with finances.  Coming from a smaller church my first finance conversations here have been a great level set. This last month I learned that so far this year we have received about $290,000 in income from various sources such as your pledges, building use, grants, and other gifts including from the Methodist Foundation. We have spent about $270,000 on staff, program, telephones, repairs, mission work, and more. So that means for the moment we are about $20,000 to the good for the year.

No matter the numbers what I know about church finances is that what matters is that people feel like the work is important enough to share their resources, that those in leadership steward well what has been shared, and that the work of the church serves God. That is happening here!  The finance team and our administrative staff work to ensure we have clear systems in place and transparent accounting of all we do. We have some pockets of money left over from old practices that are being researched and moved for use today- for example there is about $7000 in an honorarium fund that hasn’t been touched for years. Maybe we can find a better use for those funds based on our current ministry practices! At my church in Veneta we had $200 in a sign fund for decades. Eventually we used that money to buy a brick in our name at the new swimming pool. It is the work of the church to gratefully celebrate the resources we have been given and use them well and I know that is the case here at Vancouver First! 

If you have questions or are curious about things like our finances please reach out to me or anyone on our finance team.

Come Play at the Beach!

Save the dates for August 29 – September 1 to join with our FUMC family and friends
on the beautiful Long Beach Peninsula. The Ocean Park Retreat Center will again host
our group. The camp accommodates all types of campers – RVs, Tents, Fully equipped
cabins and lodges, or bunkhouses – we’ve got you covered!

This is a weekend to structure the perfect getaway for you and your family. You can:

- find your competitive side during the field games
- try kayaking on Loomis Lake
- build a sandcastle at the beach
- fly a kite
- learn a new card game
- play pickle ball in the covered play structure
- eat wonderful food
- meet new friends or catch up with old friends
- laugh and/or participate in the “No Talent Show”
- kick back and relax with a book

Pastor Eilidh plans to join us on Friday and Saturday and will provide a campfire service
in the evening.

Kids 17 and younger stay for free PLUS the Vancouver Methodist Foundation has again
offered to pay for all of the food – thank you! Feel free to invite your friends to spend a
fun-filled weekend at OPRC with you.

Registration is now open. The registration form is on our website, in our church office
and attached to this email. Camperships are available.

Please feel free to contact myself or Mary Lookingbill, Camp Coordinator (360 597-
8045) if you have any questions.

Hope to see you on the beach!
 
Valerie Estep
Labor Day Camp Registrar
360 904-9218

A memorial service to honor the life and legacy of Rev. David Tinney will be held at 2pm in the Sanctuary, followed by a reception in Jason Lee Hall. 

This service will also be livestreamed on our YouTube channel for those unable to attend in-person. 

Please check back for additional details. 

More details coming soon! Stay tuned! 

Please be aware when responding to emails and texts. There is a scam effort being made again, involving church staff. Somebody is posing as a VanFUMC staff member, emailing requests for assistance such as changing direct deposit information to a new banking institution. While these emails are clearly scams, it's easy to miss the subtle hints if one isn't looking for them. Here are a few clues that an email (or text!) might be a scam: 

- Unusal syntax: If an email or text comes across significantly more formal than the individual would normally speak or write.

- Unusual punctuation: Use of quotations (" ---") or other out-of-place punctuation.

- Incorrect email from sender: Scammers who pose as individuals will often use an email address NOT associated with that individual, in order to receive responses to their requests for personal information. Verify that the email address is the correct one for the individual. 

- Misspelled words: We all make spelling errors from time to time, and autocorrect can be a tricky bugger! But paying attention to the words that are misspelled can be a helpful indicator that maybe something is off.