September, 2008
Posted by Administrator (holytrin) on Sep 14 2008 at 2:55 AM
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As we move into September, there's a certain energy building here around the church. Letters are flying out the door, newsletters are getting more and more full, bulletins are getting more jam-packed with announcements. It's getting hard to keep track of everything going on in our community - and it's fantastic! I absolutely love the image of God doing so much in our community, through so many people's gifts and interests, changing the world in so many ways, that we can't keep it all straight. Fabulous!

You'll notice throughout this newsletter signs of that Holy Spirit at work, changing lives through the many ministries that you make possible. Your Council and I have recently recognized that we haven't always done the best job of reminding ourselves of what our gifts of time and talent and leadership and money make possible, of how they are changing the world. We will be starting having monthly "Two Minutes for Mission" (also called "Temple Talks") to help us make that connection. Make no mistake - God is changing the world through us here!

I read a statistic recently that in most congregations, if we were to take a poll, 74% of the members would say that their initial introduction to the congregation was through another person. For some of us that might be through our parents or spouse, but for many of us, it is through a friend or classmate or neighbor. Imagine - for fully 3 out of 4 of our people, were it not for another's invitation, they would not have found the community we so dearly love and appreciate.

At the same time, as I look at myself I recognize that I don't always do a good job of inviting people to join us! I don't always think to invite the neighbor across the road, or the woman I meet in the store, or Conley's classmate's parents when we meet at the bus stop. Yet I would dearly love for them to experience the gifts of our community! There's a disconnection there.

To help myself, and all of us, overcome this challenge, we are looking to begin a quarterly "Each One Reach One" service. Plan now for this service in October, when we will ask each of our members to bring (at least) one visitor with them to worship. By making a special occasion for it, perhaps we can help ourselves cross that disconnect and act out Jesus' call. Imagine what an energy that worship will have!

This energy that's building in our community is a blessed thing. God is at work, changing lives through you. Your talents and involvement are what the Holy Spirit needs most in this place. What a privilege it is for us all to be in ministry together!

In God's amazing grace,

-Pastor Tim