(March, April, June, July 2013)

Visitations:

Committee members have been checking in on congregants who have had difficulty attending church or are recovering from illness. Miyo, Alice, Flora have visited Peggy Sanui. Sudi received visits by Alice and Flora. Alice visited Kay Sakanashi. Marvin Uratsu and Bill Hirose have received visits.

Notes were sent to Vi Kimoto and Kay Sakanashi by Alice.
Congregational Care Ministers are now praying for and visiting congregants as needed.

Greeters:

Discussions took place about announcing visitors to our church. Some visitors prefer not to be announced. It would be best to ask the visitor. If permission is granted, worship leader would be notified and the greeter would introduce the visitor(s).
Miyo and Lois have been responsible for following up with first time visitors by sending note cards.
Consensus is that our church has become more welcoming overall. Yay! Let’s keep it up.
One recurring problem is that people assigned to Greeter duty sometimes forget or have a reason not to come on their Sunday. The protocol is to find a replacement or trade with another Greeter and do their day. Alice has been saddled with finding replacements or doing the job herself. However, this last month, people have been doing better about their duties.

Birthdays:

Lois Kaya and Miyo Uratsu will be in charge of distributing gifts from the birthday box. If you have a birthday within a certain month, you are entitled to pick your gift (adults and children). The box will be available in the Social Hall after service.

Community Outreach:

Google Hang Out, suggested by Kay Saito, could be a way to connect busy young adults via internet for bible study or meetings.
Community outreach will be more a function of the Dream Releasers than Membership Committee in the future.
Church note cards and postcards with the church picture on them will be produced for outreach and other purposes.

Church Directories:

Harold reports the sale of 86 directories to date.
Harold has been giving free directories to newcomers who come to church at least 3 times. Elaine purchased a directory for Youngmi as a parting gift.
Harold proposes that a BMUC group photo session be planned for 2014 or 2015. He hopes to have the right photographic equipment by then.

Budget:

$102.20 was used to pay for Easter postcards.

UMW Reports:

Spiritual retreat, “Then We Shall Sing”, was reported in April’s meeting. UMW has been going strong.
Sara Haruyama suggests that the instructions for hymn singing, which are published in our hymnals, be added to the Homevisitor.

Assistive Listening System for BMUC:

Dialog was initiated by Harold who had looked into a Loop Assistive Listening System as a possible upgrade for our church. He attended a seminar and received information.
Over the past few months, Buena Vista UMC and East Bay Free Methodist were visited by church members to compare their systems.
Professional assessment would be necessary and an acoustical engineer would need to be hired.
Sara Haruyama shared that the Beulah Fund could help pay for a system to be installed at BMUC. Lindsay Hiratzka will help write a proposal that will be submitted by the August 1st deadline.

NEXT MEMBERSHIP MEETING: August 18, 2013 at 9:00 am in the Issei Chapel. All are welcomed to attend.