THE VISITATION MINISTRY
Leadership:
· Lynn Schellenberg
· Melissa Toth
· Darlene Hjelte
· Ruth Moerman
Lynn Schellenberg continued to help me lead and evaluate this vital ministry. She continued to inspire me and help me care for our team. We held our annual kick off and training meeting in October. Representatives of the Alzheimer’s Society gave us a training session on recognizing and visiting individuals with dementia/Alzheimer’s.
Some of our visitees went to be with the Lord in 2023 but we were blessed to add some new visitees as well. We continued to visit approximately 27 people in our church family and had approximately 19 visitors visiting them.
Four times a year we sent out hand-made cards by Ruth Moerman to all our visitees. We sent cards with words of blessing, Our Daily Bread Devotionals, bookmarks, and this year I added a personal Christmas letter which included a picture from one of the children in our children’s ministry: Andres Soto.
YOUNG AT HEART
Leadership:
· Mary Ann Westgard
· Lance Duncalfe
· Stella Friesen
· Phil and Annalora Horch
· Florence Schorr
For the last year, I have been training up MaryAnn Westgard to take over the leadership of Y@H. She has a wonderful passion for outreach in Chinook Village and great leadership skills. She has taken to this role and is doing a great job. We held a Hillcrest ministry presentation describing all that the Legacy Ministry does, two grandparenting training sessions and a Christmas production. We have had from 20-80 people attend our events from inside and outside of Chinook Village. Some of our events included Fraud Prevention, Alzheimer’s Training, Whispering Pines Camp, and a Big Marble tour.
LEGACY CHRISTMAS BANQUET
It’s been my intention since starting as Pastor of Legacy Adults to offer intergenerational ministry opportunities in our church. I strongly feel it’s important for our seniors to connect with our children, youth, and adults and to give them the occasion to share their spiritual legacy with those who follow. The intent is not only to bless those younger than them with their faith, history, and heritage but for them to be blessed and encouraged in return.
Pastor Alisha and I have worked together to bring the Youth and Legacy Adults together. Once again, she organized and brought in 10 youth to help set up, serve, and clean up. They were wonderful and the Legacy Adults were once again thrilled to be able to interact with them.
I want to recognize Val Seitz who came in to decorate for us and for her willingness to allow us to reuse the decorations for the Youth Christmas Banquet. She’s wonderful to work with and does such a great job.
For the last couple of years, my wife Jamie has been studying Jazz Piano and was excited to provide an hour of jazzy Christmas music during the meal. People really enjoyed the freshness of the music and Jamie’s willingness to provide live music for them.
Starting last year, we intentionally scheduled the banquet for Saturday night so that it fell on the King’s Kids production. They were thrilled with the production and thought it was a wonderful addition to the night.
Following the production a fellowship time was provided for everyone. I was so pleased and excited to see all the generations interacting with one another.
SENIOR’S DAY CAMP
We had a wonderful day at camp. The seniors enjoyed board games, lawn games, archery, RC cars, the shooting range and Vi Heller even tried the rock climbing wall (just kidding). We had several individuals who attended for the first time and we also provided bussing from Hillcrest for about 20 people. Pastor Lance Duncalf was our guest speaker.
LUNCH CAFE
During covid, when many businesses were closed and gathering together was limited in size, the ladies from our Widowed and Singles Ministry began meeting in Hub 2 once a month. They would bring a bag lunch, eat, read scripture, and pray together. Recognizing the value of getting together at the church and wanting to share the experience of a shared meal, we thought, why not open it up to the entire church, and why not make it a safe place to bring friends. Thus, Lunch Café was born. With Karen’s leadership in the kitchen and many volunteers, they provided fantastic meals and a safe and quiet atmosphere in Hub 1 and 2. Donations are requested but not required and people are encouraged to “bring a friend”. There is no program, just food, fellowship, and the opportunity to introduce new people to Hillcrest Church. It surpassed my expectations and we consistently had 60-80 people attend each month.
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