When we think of November, generally the first thing that comes to mind is Thanksgiving. What a great holiday! There is plenty of football (for those who enjoy that sort of thing), a time to thank God for the bountiful harvest that we have been blessed with…and then the chance to see just how much of it we can eat in one sitting!
But November is also the time we celebrate All Saints Sunday, a time when we look back and remember…remember those who have gone before us and who have been inspirations to us. It is a time of year when I often think of my parents and all the many ways they offered me their unconditional love. I think about them and realize how blessed I was and how blessed I still am.
Part of that sense of continued blessing comes from being here with all of you. And I don’t mean as one of your pastors, although that in itself has been a great blessing. I simply mean the blessing that comes from being among a group of people who do their best to love God and to love another. I have experienced that love in so many ways and I also have witnessed that same love being extended to others.
In Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi he encourages them to “keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9). I think that’s a pretty good challenge for any church and especially for ours. We must continue to offer ourselves through faithful witness and worship, through ministries that run the gamut from music, cards and study to ministries of hospitality and outreach such as Bread & Jam and Grief Share. And we must be open to new ideas for ministry, remembering that the world around us is forever changing.
So in this season of Thanksgiving let us be grateful for where we have been, where we are and where we are yet to go, knowing that the God of Peace goes with us and before us. Happy Thanksgiving!
Pastor Andy