I want to thank all of you for your concern and sweet words of advice. I am doing what I am called to do. But, I am weak and sometimes I need a pity party to compensate for my weakness. So, I must apologize to you and to my Lord for that bit of whining.

I have been in this pastorate for nearly eight years, I know what to expect. I have consciously taken on this responsibility. The membership is aging and dying off, one by one. The young people have abandoned the church for the larger, more contemporary churches that have sprung up on every street corner. I recognize that the church won't survive much longer. So, I will remain faithful to my calling and see them through to the bitter end.

As you may guess from the hours I put into my secular job, I do not depend on what the church can pay me to survive. That is good for them and it is good for me. We barely take in enough in offerings to pay the bills. Some months our expenses are greater than our receipts, but we have been able to break even for the past few years.

These are good people. This is the church they grew up in and they don't relate to other churches. So we will continue to live as a church for as long as they do.

Your prayers for this people, this community and this ministry are greatly needed and appreciated.