celebrating the Spirit as we work for justice, healing and reconciliation on the
earth
Pastor’s Page Gratitude July, 2005
I will praise thee, O Lord,
with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works. I will be glad
and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. Psalm 9:1-2(KJV)
As I write this article, I am remembering a recent home
communion visit with our members of many years, Grace Schauf. As I sat down for our visit, Grace began to
tell me about how thankful she had been feeling all morning. She pointed to the beautiful tree outside her
window and told me about all of the various animals that frequent that tree
over the course of any 24-hour period.
It was truly amazing. In spite of
the fact that I had already read the depressing news about so many more people
killed in
Early in this month of July, many of us will give thanks
for the gift of our political freedoms and pray for God’s guidance for our
country. Later in the month, our
congregation will continue the spirit of gratitude by giving thanks for the
recent property improvements (July 24th) and the gift of internship
and a gifted intern pastor (July 31st).
Thus I pause to give thanks for your ministry… those of
you who are near at hand and very involved and those of you who are far away
who watch these newsletter pages with interest…those of you who make a
difference through your hours of service with your church and those of you who
make a difference through your hours at home praying over the concerns
expressed in this newsletter. Whether
you have spent hours of time working on our $30,000 plumbing crisis or sat
around a conference table imagining a future ministry or sent an extra check
because you saw the need or quietly prayed for this ministry from afar, I can
assure you that God has been using your efforts to make a difference. It is making a difference in the lives of
three neighborhood boys who bring themselves to worship and Children’s Church
every Sunday morning. It is making a
difference for each new person who joins us for worship with a deep spiritual
longing and sometimes a deep hurt in need of healing. It is making a difference
for our weekly volunteers with disabilities who develop job skills while
meeting various needs of this ministry.
It is making a difference for the hundreds of people who come to our
property each week for 12 Step Meetings, Senior
ministries or children’s programs. (They
are particularly thankful for the fact that the toilets are working
again!)
As we mark these special milestones this month, I want to
extend a special thank you to those of you who encouraged us to take a risk to
accept the invitation to serve as an internship site a year and a half
ago. When the council and congregation
entered into conversation and prayer about it, I wasn’t sure whether we would
ultimately discern God leading us to say “yes.”
(Although with Fil Vogt so strongly believing
that Jesus would surely say “yes,” it is now difficult to imagine how we could
have ever said “no!”) We have learned
and grown along with Intern Pastor Jay, and we will miss him. Thank you also to those of you who have more
recently dug deep into your pocketbooks and even your trust funds to help us
pay for the plumbing emergency and those of you who are giving significant
percentages of your income each month to cover utilities, salaries, supplies
and all kinds of things which enable us to continue to follow where Christ may
lead us. It is making a difference. You are making a difference.
With gratitude,
Property Dedication
We will give thanks to
God and dedicate our new church sign, our new plumbing and
Service of Farewell and Godspeed for our
Intern Pastor
(bring
something with either a vegetarian or Midwestern theme!)
The Internship
Committee and
