The Builder
March 2022
Join Us for Worship In-Person or Online
The Year of the People Report
2022 is the Year of the People—and that means people are our focus in 2022. In recent weeks, some among us have celebrated new beginnings, while others have grieved losses small and large. Some have received difficult medical diagnoses, wrestled with unanswered questions, or explored treatment options, while others have breathed a sigh of relief too big for words or too small for the casual observer to notice. And yet, none of this goes unnoticed by God.
God has promised to be present with us in the midst of our celebrating, grieving, pondering, exploring, waiting, and wondering. God who sought Jesus’ Easter coming out also seeks our comings out, too—out from the grip of all that hinders a closer, more faith-forming and life-giving relationship with us.
And that’s where you come in. You are some of the ways God helps others come out of their own tombs of darkness, despair, depression, or desolation. You are one of the ways God reaches other people.
As we prepare for the season of Lent to begin on Ash Wednesday (March 2), our theme for Lent is Full to the Brim.
Full to the Brim is an invitation—into a radically different Lent, into a full life. It’s an invitation to be authentically who you are, to counter scarcity and injustice at every turn, to pour out even more grace wherever it is needed. It disrupts the scarcity mentality that capitalism, oppression, or hierarchy can plant inside of us. When we allow ourselves to be filled to the brim with God’s lavish love, that love spills over. It reaches beyond ourselves; like water, it rushes and flows, touching everything in its path.
You will find information further down in this March e-Builder about a Lenten program being sponsored by the Generosity Team, called 40 Days of Love. It’s an invitation for you to take part in spilling God’s lavish love out on others during this Year of the People.
And while you’re at it, would you consider sending a little prayer for my very dear friend and colleague in ministry here at Broad Street, the Rev. Angie Cox? As many of you know the ministry ordination process can be long and arduous, and ultimately rewarding. Angie knows the long and arduous parts well. Her integrity is mighty, her faith is strong, and her endurance is beyond the comprehension of some. And while some have encouraged her to say, “enough is enough,” and others have cried tears in her stead, she continues to remind us of what it is to be an Easter people—to press on, staying focused on the kin-dom of welcome, rather than the gate-keepers of gloom.
Do not lose hope, dear ones, for Pastor Angie is an Easter person—just like you and me. The voices of a few on the Board of Ordained Ministry may seem to be prevailing right now, but they do not speak for the whole. Do not give up. Do not lose hope. God is with us. And filled to the brim with God’s lavish love, Pastor Angie continues to encourage us to press on, with her, spilling that love like water and watching it rush and flow over everything in its path.
It's the Year of the People, dear Broad Street. May you find yourself full to the brim with a love to be shared, spilled, splashed, or sent out this month.
May your Lenten journeys be full to the brim!
Pastor John
BSUMC Reconciling Ministries Network
Happy 16th Anniversary, Broad Street!
Broad Street officially became a Reconciling Congregation on February 27, 2006 with seventy-five percent of those present at our Church Conference voted to take this step to proclaim that we welcome the participation of LGBTQ+ people in all aspects of our congregational life. I think it would be one hundred percent today!
Our RMN presence at Broad Street will continue with our ministry of inclusion for all and our commitment to the justice of the Gospel. We will plan events and share information with our Broad Street community as needed and always be available to discuss current events happening with the church and Conference.
Some of our upcoming 2022 events include, but are not limited to: the AIDS walk scheduled for April; the Pride Festival located at Bethel International UMC on June 11; Columbus Stonewall Pride Parade on June 18; and a Pancake breakfast with information and updates on RMN. Details about these events will be announced at a later date.
Also, Broad Street RMN is sponsoring Manna Cafe on March 2. We will be asking for all interested persons to come together for these activities and hope to see you become involved.
Thank you, and Sue and I are excited to see you in church!
Nancy Taggart
Return to In-Person Worship
As we return to in-person worship, it will be important to continue caring for one another by keeping each other as safe as we can in all we do. To that end, our return to in-person worship doesn’t mean we’re finally returning to the old normal. We’ll still be observing safe practices and procedures:
Face masks will be required, unless one of the conditions below prohibits it. If you are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, wearing a mask that covers the nose, mouth, and chin will help you protect yourself and others. According to the Ohio Dept of Health, a face mask should never be worn by/placed on anyone who:
is younger than 2.
cannot remove it without assistance.
risks choking if wearing a mask.
is sleeping/napping.
is living with a medical condition that makes it unsafe to wear a mask. This includes respiratory conditions that restrict breathing, mental health conditions, or disabilities.
is swimming. (Wet masks can cause difficulty breathing.)
risks workplace health, safety, or job duty if wearing a mask.
Social distance seating in the Sanctuary (every other pew), being careful to keep at least six feet between households in the pews.
Frequently wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
Watch out for any symptoms of COVID-19. If you have a fever, cough, or other signs of COVID-19, stay home and away from others.
Financial Stewardship at Broad Street UMC
We’ve closed the books on 2021 and turned the fiscal page to 2022 at Broad Street UMC. Your finance team would like to share information about the past year and what 2022 may hold.
Your first question might be, “Who is on the Broad Street UMC finance team?” The governing body for our church family is our Leadership Board. One of the sub-committees that make up the Leadership Board is the Finance Sub-committee. There are six people who make up the Finance Sub-committee:
Leadership Board Members: Chris Clough, Keith Holten, and Kylie Smith
Church Treasurer: Jennifer Blattler
Financial Secretary: Lydia Keller
Senior Pastor: Rev. John Girard
Our sub-committee meets every month to review financial matters for the church which includes reviewing the previous month’s giving and expenses, strategizing about our operating budget, answering questions about financial matters, discussing stewardship goals, and basically making sure that our financial house is in order.
We prepare financial documents to present to the Leadership Board each month. We bring recommendations to the Leadership Board about our budget.
We strive to maintain Broad Street UMC’s financial health and good standing by making sure that the bills are paid and our connectional obligations to The United Methodist Church are satisfied.
2021 Financial Results
2021 was an interesting year for church finances. We were living with the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that for a little more than a quarter of the year we were away from each other physically. We continued to strengthen our online streaming of worship throughout the year. We had a pastoral change in July. Our outreach ministries like Manna Café, Bethlehem on Broad Street, the Drop-In/Warming Center kept going. We also continued to provide space for another worshipping congregation and twelve-step programs that have called Broad Street home for many years.
Through all of the changes and adjustments that were needed for ministry in 2021, one thing that remained consistent was the generous giving of our church family. In fact, we had a goal of $257,500 in congregational giving for 2021, but each month we watched giving exceed our expectations. At the end of 2021, we received $272,895 – 6% over the goal. Thank you for your generosity and your faith in the mission and ministry of our church!
Because of our commitment to ministry in the Heart of the City, we received $20,000 in grants from our United Methodist connection. These funds are specifically designated to support our outreach ministries and our technological growth.
While we have been the recipients of financial gifts from within our church family and outside organizations, we still needed to use money from our savings and investments to make sure that we cared for all of our financial obligations, including paying 100% of our connectional obligations. We used about $30,000 from our savings in 2021. Due to budget adjustments, generous gifts, and fiscal management, we used less of our savings than we had originally planned.
2022 Outlook
Right now, our 2022 church budget looks much like last year. We’ve tried to keep our spending plan as close to 2021 as possible while making room for increases that we know we will see for utilities and expenses associated with the technology needed to keep and strengthen our online streaming presence. We have received $15,000 in grants for our mission and ministry. We will plan to use money from our savings and investments to cover shortfalls as needed.
We are looking forward to a Spring stewardship campaign being planned by our newly-formed Generosity Team.
Mission and Ministry Funding Plan
I like to think of our church budget as our Mission and Ministry Funding Plan. It is our shared financial commitment to the mission and ministries of Broad Street UMC. It is a statement about our missional priorities and is the backbone and support of our work together in the coming year. Your Finance Sub-committee is committed to the stewardship of this plan in 2022. Additionally, we know that you may have questions about church financial matters. I want you to know that you can reach out directly to us with any questions you have. I am including my e-mail address and phone number below. We will also be providing more information about church finances through the monthly newsletter. Stay tuned for more information about the 2022 budget in the April newsletter.
Once again, thank you for your belief in the mission and ministry of Broad Street UMC. And, thank you for your generosity and support.
Chris Clough, Finance Sub-committee Chair
Archives and History Committee
The Archives and History Committee is part of the formal structure of the United Methodist Church. At the state level is the Archives of Ohio United Methodism (East and West Conferences). There is a West Ohio Conference Commission on Archives and History. These archives are housed within the Beeghly Library at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. This is the source of many of the pastor portraits that have been displayed in Jim Thomas Hall. There is also an independent group named the United Methodist Historical Society.
At the local church level is our Archives and History Committee. Our collection consists of historical records, documents, bulletins, newsletters, membership records, minutes of committee meetings, photographs, newspaper articles, and much more. There is a collection of church blueprints spanning decades. The organizing, filing, and preserving of these materials is an ongoing task of the committee. Sometimes the Committee has been asked “unusual” questions such as the weight of the stainless steel steeple. The archives are housed in a dedicated room on the third floor.
Much credit for the quality of our archives is due to the very hard work, over many years, of the previous Chair, Jim Barbee.
These resources provided materials for the writing of the two histories of the church: Endless Splendor: A History of Broad Street Methodist Church Columbus Ohio 1874-1959 and Built on a Rock (1875-2000). In this context, preliminary plans are just beginning to be made for the 150th anniversary of the church in 2025.
Current members of the committee are Nancy Roberts and Justin Nelson Nowakowski.
“Tours” of the archives are available on request.
Don Christenson, Chair
Generosity Team Report
The Generosity team is hard at work preparing the next Stewardship Campaign—but it’s no ordinary stewardship campaign. This year’s late spring/early summer campaign will celebrate and honor the Year of the People. People are the heart of Broad Street Church, and people will be the heart of this year’s campaign.
So, to prepare for a stewardship campaign that starts with people, the Generosity team is sponsoring a program called 40 Days of Love during Lent. In worship on March 6th Pastor John will share a story about a man who received a letter in the mail from someone at his church. The letter was short, but it changed his life.
As part of your Lenten practice this year, we’re inviting you to think about sending letters to people at Broad Street Church, just to remind them that they’re loved, valued, appreciated, or otherwise important to God and to Broad Street.
The letters don’t have to follow any particular format. They don’t have to be long. They don’t have to be detailed. Just drop a quick note to a few people to let them know they make a difference. Just like the story you’ll hear Pastor John share in worship, you’ll change someone’s life just by one small gesture. And you may just be surprised what a difference it makes in you, too.
40 Days of Love is just that. There’s no set of rules, no specific formula or requirements. Just send a few notes out and see what happens!
Submitted by Generosity Team (Kylie Smith, HL Wright, & Karen Haylor)
Music Notes from Gary Everts
For each of us during these many months of a pandemic, we have been called to practice understanding, patience, protocols, flexibility, and grace. And so it is for the music ministry at Broad Street in this time of unexpected change together with Covid. I often reflect on the words of John Wesley, “Best of all is God is with us.”
At the end of February, the organist job post went public. The application deadline is April 1. Until a new organist is hired, I will continue to recruit and schedule substitute keyboard players for all services.
On February 14, Olivia Sharlow joined the church staff as Handbell Director. Olivia has rung with the Ringers on Broad for the past nine years, and her handbell training and experience spans nearly 30 years. We welcome Olivia’s passion for handbells and look forward to the sound of handbells in the sanctuary under Olivia’s direction.
With our return to in-person worship, we look forward to the return of the Chancel Choir’s music leadership in worship, beginning on Sunday, March 6. The choir members are eager to get back into the routine of singing together and preparing music for the season of Lent, leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter morning.
See you in church!
What’s Your Story?
StoryCorps, a radio and podcast program, was started by NPR (Nation Public Radio) in 2003 in Grand Central Terminal. Their mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. And they do it by inviting individuals to tell their stories.
Their goal is to remind us of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening, and to weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that everyone’s story matters. At the same time, they create an invaluable archive for future generations.
At the February meeting of the Generosity Team, someone pitched the idea of a Broad Street StoryCorps. What if we invited Broad Street friends and members to tell their stories about how Broad Street Church made a difference? We could add it to our archives for future generations of the Broad Street family!
Could you do it? Would you do it?
Keep watching for more details and opportunities.
Until then, what’s your story?
Full to the Brim, An Expansive Lent
The scriptures for this Lenten season (in the Revised Common Lectionary) are filled with parables and promises of God’s abundant and expansive grace. Jesus as a mother hen, a prodigal son welcomed home, a fig tree nurtured with care and hope, precious oil poured out lovingly and freely, stones shouting out with praise —these sacred texts are brimming with a gospel of grace. We’ve done nothing to deserve or earn this grace, and yet, like water, it spills over. Full to the Brim is an invitation—into a radically different Lent, into a full life. It’s an invitation to be authentically who you are, to counter scarcity and injustice at every turn, to pour out even more grace wherever it is needed. It disrupts the scarcity mentality that capitalism, oppression, or hierarchy can plant inside of us. When we allow ourselves to be filled to the brim with God’s lavish love, that love spills over. It reaches beyond ourselves; like water, it rushes and flows, touching everything in its path.
We recognize that traditional iterations of Lent often emphasize restraint, confession, and piety. The origins of Lent were that one was to leave their old life behind to fast and prepare to be baptized into a new way of living. In essence, this was a practice of stepping away from the rat race, corrupt power, scarcity mentality, and empty rituals in order to live a more expansive and full life of faith. And so, Full to the Brim trusts the promise of our baptisms—God has already claimed us as God’s own, and nothing we can do will ever change or erase that.
Full to the Brim doesn’t ignore or deny sin and suffering. It doesn’t absolve accountability for wrongdoing. Instead, it contextualizes our faith. If love is our beginning, how can we live our lives led by love’s promises? It reminds us to live fully—as we pursue justice and hope, or express grief and gratitude. And so, this Lent, let us trust—fully—that we belong to God. Let us increase our capacity to receive and give grace. Let us discover the expansive life God dreams for us.
You may be thinking, “This doesn’t sound very Lent-y.” If Lent, for you, is defined by personal discipline, penitence, and reminders of humans in and finitude, then yes, this theme will be a different experience. Time and again, this year’s lectionary texts for Lent show us a God who offers us grace—grace that is undeserved, unearned, illogical, and boundless.
And so, you may consider this Lenten theme somewhat resurrection-inspired. We can’t fully prepare for the surprising grace of Easter, but perhaps during this season of Lent, we can try to unearth the areas of perceived unworthiness and scarcity in our lives that prevent us from more fully living into God’s unimaginable grace. Perhaps during Lent this year, as return to in-person worship, we can practice receiving and extending God’s grace in all we do. Perhaps we can strive for a life that is full—full of hope, courage, joy, honesty, and grace. Isn’t that what the resurrection is really about, anyway? And isn’t that what Lent is helping us to live into, too?
If you would like to engage in Lent beyond Sunday mornings and any at-home discipline, we’d love for you to join our Zoom-based Bible Study on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. beginning March 9th. Sign up at bsumc501.breezechms.com/form/lent2022.
Shepherd Update
Aren’t dreams funny? A recent one had me lost in a dark, empty parking lot, finding my way by the light of my cellphone. Out of nowhere I shone it on the face of a friend, and instantly, viscerally, I felt overwhelmed with relief. No more anxiety!
That, to me, illustrates the power of connection. It turns tension and foreboding into calm and well-being. The new Shepherd Program is all about the connections that we make within our church family: a smile, a handshake, a hug, a gathering at the altar, communion.
Our membership has been divided into groups (flocks) for which a Shepherd has been assigned. The Shepherds will be contacting all members to connect us into a caring network. Please feel free to share your joys and concerns so that we may all celebrate or console, as needed.
The old hymn says, “Blessed be the tie that binds.” My hope is that we will benefit from this new form of ties to God’s love and to the friendship of our neighbors.
Karen Haylor
It’s Women’s History Month!
You probably know that March is considered Women’s History Month, and like Black History Month, we give more direct attention to the contributions and struggles of those who have come before us. In recognition of this month, I offer you a brief history of women clergy and women’s ordination in the Methodist tradition. (Really, it is quite brief and simplified, I promise!)
Much like our ongoing conflict surrounding the ordination of LGBTQIA+ individuals, Methodists and our forebears have a very mottled history when it comes to ordaining women. The founder of Methodism, Rev. John Wesley, infamously licensed a few women to preach, beginning with Sarah Crosby in 1761. Wesley recognized and acknowledged that these women had an extraordinary call and had provided leadership throughout the Methodist movement in the Americas. Although we might presume that what was good enough for the founder of Methodism should be good enough for later Methodists, we would be incorrect.
The history of women’s ordination in the Methodist tradition becomes a somewhat more complicated journey. This is because much more of Methodist history predates our current United Methodist Church denomination and involves denominational names such as the Methodist Protestant Church, Methodist Episcopal Church (northern U.S., typically considered abolitionists) and Methodist Episcopal Church, South (southern U.S., in favor of chattel slavery). All of these churches, and more, contribute to the history of what is now The United Methodist Church.
The United Brethren Church, also an ancestor to the current UMC, comes up first in the Methodist tradition’s timeline of ordaining women. The United Brethren Church licensed women as early as 1849 but ultimately rescinded women's licenses in 1857. The Methodist Protestant Church ordained Anna Howard Shaw in 1880; however, Shaw’s ordination was later ruled out of order in 1884. (Bonus fact: Anna Howard Shaw was in a committed partnership with another woman!)
While the United Brethren and Methodist Protestant Churches had rescinded women’s ordination, the debate about women in leadership continued among the Methodist Episcopal Church through several General Conferences. In 1880, there was little discussion allowed: however, when five women, including Frances Willard, showed up to the 1888 General Conference having been elected and sent as delegates by their Annual Conferences, the debate rekindled anew.
While most did not challenge the merit of the lay women delegates, Rev. Dr. James M. Buckley, an opponent of both lay and women's rights stated: "Every time you put a woman in, you put a man out," and "All objections to the admission of women into the General Conference come at last to this—that they are women and not men.” The 1888 General Conference sent home the five women selected as delegates that year and voted to put the question of women's eligibility as lay delegates to church-wide vote. There, it achieved a majority but not the three-fourths needed for a constitutional amendment. Preventing women from serving as delegates continued their exclusion from the body that made decisions regarding ordination and other matters that would affect them. Women delegates were finally approved by the 1900 General Conference, and the first female delegates took their seats four years later. The Methodist Episcopal Church General Conference did not consider women’s rights again until 1920, when the issue of women’s ordination resurfaced.
Meanwhile, amidst the ongoing debate in the Methodist Episcopal Church in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, The United Brethren Church granted full clergy rights to Sarah Dickey in 1894. It wasn’t until 1924 that the Methodist Episcopal Church granted women any rights as clergy, and even then, they were permitted to be ordained only as local deacons and elders, still without full clergy rights. When the Methodist Episcopal Church, which primarily existed in the northern United States, merged with the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the Methodist Protestant Church in 1939, women from the Methodist Episcopal Church South gained the right to ordination for the first time. Methodist Protestant women, however, continued to have the right to be ordained as local deacons and elders, but gave up full clergy rights.
Finally, in 1956 no longer able to cling to the power structures that had affirmed women's contributions and leadership but kept women from full participation in the life of the church for decades, women's ordination became a reality in The Methodist Episcopal Church. The ability of women to be ordained and carry full clergy rights remained when The Methodist Episcopal Church and Evangelical United Brethren Church merged in 1968, thus forming what we now know as The United Methodist Church.
As you can see, the fight for women’s ordination was a long and often bitter struggle. The same is true for where we find ourselves in conflict over LGBTQIA+ ordination. But remember these words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s: “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Submitted by Pastor Angie
Your continuing faithfulness in giving to the mission and ministries of Broad Street is deeply appreciated. We are especially grateful to those who have switched to online giving, as we do not have to process checks to receive those gifts. To give via check or cash, you are welcome to give in-person on Sunday mornings or mail your offerings directly to the church. To give online, we encourage you to use one of the options below.
Go to broadstreetumc.net and click on “Giving” or click on the button directly below.
Download the free Vanco Mobile app on your device and search for Broad Street.
Text the dollar amount to (614) 528-4075.
Recurring Events:
Sunday: 11 a.m. — Livestream & in-person Worship
Monday-Thursday: 10 a.m.–4 p.m. — Church Office Open
Monday-Friday: 8 a.m.–5 p.m. — Columbus Coalition for the Homeless Warming Center
Monday-Saturday: 12 p.m. — 501 AA
Wednesday: 3 p.m.–6 p.m. — Manna Café
Meetings:
March 1: 7 p.m. — CRIS informational meeting
March 6: 4 p.m. — Ministry Team Leaders meeting
March 7: 7 p.m. — Facilities Sub-Committee—Zoom
March 8: 1 p.m. — History and Archives meeting
March 9: 7 p.m. — Technology Implementation Team meeting
March 15: 7 p.m. — Kitchen Renovation Project Implementation Team meeting
March 16: 2 p.m. — Generosity Team meeting
March 16: 7 p.m. — Finance Sub-Committee—Zoom
March 21: 7 p.m. — Leadership Board—Zoom
Bible Study:
March 9: 6 p.m. — Lenten Study—Zoom
March 16: 7 p.m. — Lenten Study—Zoom
March 23: 7 p.m. — Lenten Study—Zoom
March 30: 7 p.m. — Lenten Study—Zoom
April 6: 7 p.m. — Lenten Study—Zoom
