It is summer and time to relax.  Pat is off on his vacation, I’ll be off for two weeks this month and a week in August.  You’ll get to hear Carl Gladstone of Motown Mission and Shirley Martinson preach in July.  We probably all need to step back for a moment and breathe, because we’ve been busy of late.  May and June were full of activities and opportunities to minister and to worship and to learn.  We have made great strides as a church this past year.  While we don’t focus on numbers, it’s encouraging to see the upswing in attendance (though with vacations I know that this will slip a bit).  We have new people attending and considering their place in the church.  We have new ministry opportunities developing.  And so as I complete my second year as pastor of this congregation, I am looking forward to the opportunity that we have to build upon this success.  As we start this month, we do so with a new set of leaders, and I believe that the nominating committee did a great job in discerning who should be asked to lead our various ministries.  They had an additional task this year because we have added new ministry groups to the fold.  I’m looking forward to working with Rial and the rest of the team as we partner together in the work of our Lord.  As I look forward into the future, I must not forget to thank those who partnered with me this past year in ministry.  Led by Alice Bishop, our officers and leaders showed great commitment and diligence, knowing that they were part of God’s work.  So, thank you all, for your good work!

Click to read more ...

            In this Missional Dispatch, I want to take a moment to address the issue of stewardship.  Each fall we enter a time of reflection upon stewardship matters.  We have sermons and testimonials, along with letters sent out by the stewardship committee requesting from members pledges of support.  We lift up the spiritual importance of giving of our time, our talents, and yes, our monies.  These are given in response to God’s provisions for our lives – our daily bread.  They serve as signs that we have embraced the covenant that God is making with us, a covenant relationship that includes the faith community.

Click to read more ...

Throughout the Bible we read about covenants. God makes a covenant with Noah, with Abraham and Sarah, with Israel through Moses. Jeremiah speaks of a new covenant, one that will be written on the heart rather than stone (Jeremiah 31). Jesus describes a covenant that was made in his blood – the Eucharist (Luke 22:20). We use the word covenant in wedding ceremonies. It is also the word that was chosen to describe the relationship of the local, the regional, and the general manifestations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

In the Preamble to the Design, the document that defines the nature of our tradition, we make this confession: We rejoice in God, maker of heaven and earth, and in the covenant of love which binds us to God and one another.

Click to read more ...