Happy New Year

From Director of Administration, Serena Wolfe:

Athens is an intersting place. Rural. Appalachian. And in the middle of our town is Ohio University - a public higher education institution that operates on a quarter system for now. Many "Centralites" are somehow affiliated with the University - be it student, professor, or administrative support - so, the University's academic calendar has significant influcent on Central's seasons of minstry and rest.

All that to say, summer has been (almost) quiet. But now, fall is around the corner and we're ready to celebrate our friends' return to campus and a more steady pace in our ministries.

Things don't come to a complete standstill during summer, of course. We have still been doing amazing things.

West Ohio Conference Internship

Katie Miller has joined our staff this summer as a West Ohio Conference Intern. During her time in Athens, Katie has been exploring a call to ministry and learning about the day-to-day functionings of a church. Not only has Katie been helping at the Lottridge Food Pantry, going to Very Exciting Meetings with staff, helping at Carpenter and supporting staff though important minitries like washing cars and bringing us water (of course, I'm joking!), but she also taught one weekend. You can hear what this fanstastic young woman had to say on our podcast. Download the message from Sunday, August 7!

Vacation Bible School

Central's annual Vacation Bible School is unlike any other you've ever seen. At least, we hope so! Here's a story from Melissa Goertz, Director of Children's Ministry, about her experience as first-time Director of Vacation Bible School:

I had several personal experiences with the kids. One in particular still brings tears to my eyes.  There was a young girl who had a hard time adjusting to the environment. She was brought to me the first night to calm her fears. I was able to get her to calm down by just talking to her about what she likes; I did the talking, she wouldn’t say a word. I took her to her older sister’s group for the remainder of the night and she seemed content. The next night, she was brought to me again as she was sad and afraid. She still wouldn’t speak a single word to me, but grabbed my hand and directed me where she wanted to go; to her sister’s group again. At the end of the second night, when we were all lined up behind the church for snow cones and cotton candy, she spotted me in the crowd.  I watched as this sweet precious little girl ran toward me with the brightest smile on her face and she wrapped her small 3-year-old arms around me and gave me the biggest squeeze.  My heart jumped and tears filled my eyes. This little angel never spoke one word to me, but our hearts spoke the same language. I felt Jesus in her touch. It was at that moment in time, all the organizing, planning, last minute chaos escaped my mind. I breathed that moment in and allowed it to consume me.

Melissa did a great job leading the team this year. And the team did a great job sharing their lives and love of Christ with the children who attended. To everyone who was involved in this amazing experience - THANKS!

Central: Uptown Location

You might have heard about this little project we've taking on that we refer to as "Carpenter." Opening our new location is a two-phase process and phase one is nearly complete! We first and foremost desired to have a location that is self-sustaining. Our property at 29 E. Carpetner St. houses three apartmetns and a retail space. During phase one, we've been focused on improving those spaces and leasing them so that we have a revenue stream to support the next phase - Central: Uptown!

Our retail space has been rented since February. Our first residental tenant moved in during late June and our second tenant moved in just this week! We have one more apartment that is nearly finished and ready for occupacy. If you are looking for housing uptown or know someone who is, consider renting from Central! Not only will you have a VERY nice apartment (granite countertops, new plumbing, new electric, freshly restored hardwood floors and lovely bathrooms), but you'll be supporting the ministries that will be launched at the Uptown Location.

You can also be a part of this exciting new beginning by participating in our Carpenter Work Days. Check out the News & Events page for information.

Well, Central, this is what I have to report to you. I'm off to make my "New Year" resolutions and get ready for next month. Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday!