PJ’s Page –
There is much happening in the life of this congregation this month. We will celebrate the saints on All Saint’s Sunday. We will support our ministries of Christian Formation and Spiritual Growth through our second annual art auction. We will celebrate with other choirs in our neighborhood in a choir benefit concert. We will consider what we will offer back to God in our Stewardship emphasis: The Stories That Shape Us: Stewarding Our Gifts. We will have an ingathering of underclothes on “Undie Sunday” for those in our neighborhood without access to clean clothing. We will gather for a Community Service of Thanksgiving and then, on the final day of the month, we will take a deep breath, and enter into a season of holy waiting – Advent.
My great hope is that you will participate in those places you are able to do so and when you aren’t able to be present, you will hold the ministries of this place up in prayer.
Last month, in this newsletter space, I shared a question from former Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson: What would happen if your congregation ceased to exist?
In our Stewardship season, we will hear stories that answer that question. We are calling them “our stories” but they are “ours” in a truly plural sense – they are stories about how being the church in this place has served the Gospel, our neighbors, and shaped us as disciples.
It is an extraordinary privilege to be your pastor. Every day I see the difference that you make, that we make together in this place. In truth, some days it feels that we are putting itty bitty bandaids on critical wounds. The need is that great, it is that big. But we are doing something. Whether it’s food or bus fare or helping with prescriptions or hotel rooms, we are doing something.
In these days, there are many among us who are struggling with illness and unexpected turns in life. I invite your prayerful support of these sisters and brothers. We name them in the prayers of the church (God knows who we mean when we just use their first names). Remember to lift them up in your daily prayers, too. It’s another way we share the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Finally, it is the season of Thanksgiving. I truly hope you will join us for the Community Thanksgiving Service (details elsewhere in this newsletter). This interfaith service is a blessing to me every single year. It is a time when we gather with our neighbors and offer thanksgiving to God for one another. We also identify a local cause to which we direct our offerings.
When I give thanks, I always remember you, beloved community, for the good that you do and the good that you are – made in God’s image and held in God’s love, so that together we can Actively Share Christ’s Love in Community.
– Pastor Julie Hutson