Middle River Celebrates New Church

__________________________________________________________

    It is time to CELEBRATE!  Middle River Friends invites the community to join us in a Community Welcoming Worship Service and Open House to
celebrate the Grand Opening of our NEW building, located at 407 S-23 Highway (Palmyra Road).  On Sunday, August 18th at 10:30 a.m. our Worship Service
begins, followed at 12 noon with a potluck dinner.  At 1:30 p.m. the Open house and tours begin and run through 3:30 p.m.  This day we will celebrate
the beginning of a new chapter for Middle River Friends Church.  This day we will also celebrate for the people who will be the Future Generations of
the church of Middle River Friends. 
    Four and one-half years ago a building committee was formed to explore remodeling ideas at the location where MRF has been for almost 100 years,
1792 Cleveland St.  It was soon discovered that the land size there was not going to meet the growing demands of a country church.  With the donation
of 2 1/2 acres by brother and sister, Dwight and Jeanette Gibbons, the relocation of Middle River Friends to 407 S-23 Highway began.
    Small group meetings were held in parishioners homes for ideas on what our new home should look like and what it should be capable of providing. 
Three main themes were discussed at all these meetings:
    1.  The sanctuary should have the look and feel of an old style country church inside and out, and be able to seat 250 comfortably.
    2.  The fellowship hall should accommodate large funeral and wedding events.
    3.  Construct adequate classrooms to accommodate all age groups. 
    With a creative design by Laugerman Architects and the building expertise of Tyler Construction Services, the construction of our new home began. 
Ground breaking ceremonies were held on October 8, 2000 and construction began in June 2001.
    The building committee, within its first few meetings, adopted the following verse from Psalms 78:4. "We will not hide them from their children; we will tell
the next generation of the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord.  His Power and the Wonders He has done."  The building committee knew it was their job to build a
place for Future Generations to hear of these deeds of the Lord.
    Come, celebrate with us at the place the Lord has provided for Middle River Friends Church on Sunday, August 18th.  Hope to see you there!


New Millenium brings new building for Middle River Friends Church

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     A long-time rural Carlisle church will soon be moving into a new home.

     Middle River Evangelical Friends Church has been in its location at 1792 Cleveland St. since its founding in 1851, with its current building in place
since 1890.  However, it is tentatively scheduled to move this summer to a new, larger building on S23 Highway a mile away.

     The new buidling will allow the church to host one Sunday morning service again, after having to move to two services to accommodate larger
crowds in its 80-seat sanctuary.  Les Ferguson of the church's building committee said "We had put on two additions."

     Dan Ritchie, also a member of the church's building committee, said the church's recent Palm Sunday service had 166 people show up.  The crowd
was squeezed into various areas of the sanctuary, including spaces of the stage.  "We don't want to ever seat that many again," he said.

     Ritchie added the church was also running low on parking spaces.  To accommodate the larger Sunday crowds, the church had begun leasing land
from its neighbors, accounting for half of the parking area.

     This, however, was a short-term deal.

     The new building, built in the style of a country church like its pre-decessor, will seat 260 people in a sanctuary on a 2.5-acre spread.  The
increased capacity will allow the church to host more weddings and funerals, as well as programs such as the national conference "Divorce-proofing Your
Marriage."  Middle River Church will be one of 12 churches in the Des Moines area to host it.  "We plan to open that to the community," Ritchie said.

     The land, donated by brother and sister Dwight and Jeanette Gibbons, will allow a $1.5 million complex to be build complete with a social hall, nursery,
library, a 50-seat balcony in the sanctuary and more classrooms and your pastor Jennifer Phillips' office in the basement.

     The basement will be connected to the main level by a staircase and an elevator.

     "We don't have to worry about the wheelchair ramps going downstairs," Ritchie said.  "There are a number of seniors who are going to appreciate this." 

     Plans include the possible installation of closed-circuit television to the outside social hall to show services to larger crowds.

     The location also will make the church more accessible to church goers, rather than having them travel one mile down gravel to Cleveland Street.  Its
position on top of a hill near Iowa Highway 5 allows it to be seen from Scotch Ridge Road.  "Everyone's making comments," Ritchie said.

     If construction continues on schedule, the new buidling will open in July.  Before then, the church will be putting the current building on sale by the end
of April.

     The new building has seen an opening of sorts already, with a service being held on Feb. 17.

     "It was the kickoff to our fund-raiser," Ritchie said.  "Over half of it are gifts."

     The fund-raising for the building has been ongoing since 1999, Ritchie said, with another three years expected after the building's completion.

Annual Report to the Friends Iowa Yearly Meeting  
______________________________________________________________________  

Ministry and Counsel submitted the following information to the Friends Iowa Yearly Meeting outlining some of the great things God has allowed us to do at
Middle River Evangelical Friends Church.

 1.  Welcome Home to Carlisle - We participated with several businesses and other churches in downtown Carlisle the last few years as part of the celebration.
      We did not charge for things we had to share (popcorn, hot apple cider, pencils, pads of paper, etc.)  The attached brochure titled "WORSHIP IN THE COUNTRY"
      was given out at this function and is used to send to new people in our community.

 2.  Pastor Ralph does counseling at the church with people in the community that have needs.  This has brought people into the church over the last year.

 3.  We signed up for a service to provide us a list of people that have moved into several zip code areas around our church.  We then send a letter and
      information about the church.  We have had some visitors from this program.

 4.  We have a men's group that meets at the church on Thursday mornings for breakfast and Bible study time.  This is opened up to the entire community and
      we have several churches represented.  Our thoughts are that this has had a very positive impact on families and the overall community.

 5.  Our men have been attending Promise Keeper conferences since 1994.  Each year a few more men made the pilgrimage than the year before.  These
      conferences have had a positive impact on the spiritual growth of the men of our meeting.

 6.  Our ladies have been attending Women of Faith conferences the last five years.  In addition, a Women's Legacy group meets at our church monthly.  About 1/2 of
      the women who attend are members of other churches.  These conferences have had a positive impact on the spiritual growth of the ladies of our meeting.

 7.  Ministry and Council have established 'cell groups'.  We have a M & C member who is responsible for helping shepherd people attending our meeting at MREF. 
      A letter was sent to each person attending MREF telling them they have someone they can come to for help.  This program is intended to compliment
      Pastor Ralph's ministry to the entire congregation.

 8.  Some of the men in our meeting attend the 'Cross Trainers' meeting at noon on Wednesdays in Des Moines.  This is sponsored by Gary Rosburg of America's
      Family Coaches.  This touches up to 600 men each Wednesday and gives us the boost we need by the middle of the week.

 9.  Some of our families have attended "Date with a Purpose".  This is another program sponsored by America's Family Coaches.  It emphasizes what men
      need to do to meet the needs of their wives and vice versa.  This program helps build stronger families within our meeting.

10. Pastor Ralph is the official chaplain at the Carlisle Nursing Home.  He meets the needs of many people at the nursing home and has Sunday afternoon church
      services at the nursing home every other month.

11. Pastor Ralph works with special needs group at the Carlisle High School each Friday.  Grace Sivadge, who attends MREF, is a teacher at Carlisle High School
      and oversees the special needs group.

12. Our goal has always been to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit guiding us in new ways to reach out in love to the Carlisle, Hartford and Indianola communities.
      In addition, we have several people attending MREF from Des Moines and its suburbs.  MREF's mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with
      Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

13. Our entire meeting has truly felt the touch of God's hand.  It is a very exciting time at MREF.  With the Spirit moving, as it definitely is, we are experiencing
      new families entering our doors almost weekly.  Our attendance is noticeably up over last year.

14. God has definitely been leading MREF in our mission to lead people to Christ.  About 2 years ago, we realized that our current building was not meeting the
      needs of the meeting due to our growth and also the age of the building.  A building committee was assembled to study what might be done to meet our
      needs.  God has lead this committee and the congregation through every step.  God opened many doors and has shut some doors when we began going too fast
      or tried doing things on our own.  To date, we have 70% of the funds pledged to build a new building; we have had 2 1/2 acres of land donated for the new
      building; and we have had 100% of the congregation in agreement with every step that has been taken during the building committee planning process.  We
      have had two Sunday morning services for quite some time due to the numbers of people we have attending MREF.  The new building will allow us to get back
      to one service on Sunday morning.  We tell you about this just to emphasize that God is truly in control and is helping MREF lead people in our surrounding
      communities to Christ.  We do ask for your prayers as we move ahead with our building project to better serve the people that God is allowing us to minister to.