Mrs. Ichabod said, "Send this to 29A." It describes a LCMC congregation.
http://www.alpb.org/forum/index.php?topic=2616.9585
7. Opening a Christian Daycare is a large part of Grace's vision for its turnaround and future prosperity. This is similar to what we have done at Christ Lutheran in Belmont. While this does not necessarily enlarge the congregation (it hasn't much at Christ despite 8 years of such ministry), if successful it does provide Christian nurture for children ages 1 month to 5 years, full-time employment for a number of persons (i.e., job creation, much needed in their area as in many), and strong finances to perpetuate the congregation's ministries of Word and Sacrament, and a full-time pastoral presence with the means to help many locally and strong mission support beyond local to others.
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| Learning to say, "Tanks" at the Patton Museum. |
GJ - I copied this because it represents the non-thinking in many WELS congregations, as subsidized day-care absorbs more and more money from the parish.
It also fits the corporate model described below by Mr. Randall Schultz.
This paragraph reminds me of the letter written to a journalist about all the things the congregation had tried to raise money. All of them were gimmicks and selling efforts. "What should we try next?" they asked.
Horace Greeley replied, "Try religion."
Lutherans should trust the Word, but they do not. Broadcasting the Word (in the old fashioned sense) is possible in a dozen ways, from mailings to blogging, from podcasts to video services.
Instead of looking for a man faithful to the Word, congregations look for an MBA who pleases everyone. That is a devil's bargain. If he or she fools enough people long enough, the parish becomes a synagogue of Satan. If the minister finds out the magic formula does not work, he is thrown into despair.
Holy Mother WELS will help a family borrow $80,000 so their child can learn diaper-changing as a credentialed profession. Martin Luther College (WELS) is spending millions to establish a training center, to pump life into their dying school.
Mrs. I did not take any didie changing courses, but she managed to take care of three special children. Nor did I, and I managed such skills as feeding the unwilling, bathing the rebellious, and teaching Greek.
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| My young charge agreed to demonstrate how he escaped his crib. |
quercuscontramalum (http://quercuscontramalum.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "The Church Day-Care Business:Read and Weep":
Area Lutheran High Schools have AP/college track curricula and career placement programs for young women, but guidance department materials never mention "Mother," let alone praise it as the highest vocation for her.
ALHS's are not only subsidized, they are their own calling bodies within WELS. (Churchception: church within a church within a church) What if a pastor stood at the pulpit (or the middle of the stage) listing forty wonderful career choices a teenage girl could do with her life, but never mentioned 'stay at home and raise Christian babies'?
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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "The Church Day-Care Business:Read and Weep":
Another important point is that church daycare centers and also four-year-old kindergarten (or preschool) usually require a number of volunteers from the church to make them operate smoothly. In some parishes, it is hard to get willing volunteers for sporadic events, much less for something as often and as sustained as a daycare or preschool requires.
Our church was considering a daycare, and also a 4-year-old kindergarten. A daycare is subsidized by the state or feds only for mothers with low income who need to work, while the 4-year-old kindergarten has been subsidized by the state for nearly a decade now for children regardless of the income of the parents (at least in our state).
Subsidized four-year-old kindergarten is new and is not available in every area. It depends on local interest, and whether private entities or the public school system are willing to set it up. Also, with unemployment high and states looking to trim budgets, the state might pull funding at any time. The main rational for subsidized four year old kindergarten is not there when there's already high unemployment, since who needs more mothers able and willing to work, further driving up the unemployment rate?
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GJ - The church or school that lives by taxes will die by taxes.
