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Grace & peace to you from God our Creator,
God our Savior in Jesus Christ,
God our Sustainer and Comforter in the Holy Spirit. Amen.
As we gather to celebrate our ministry together in 2007, I celebrate with you for the great ministry we have done in the mission field. Not only have you participated in all 5 of our National Church offerings - OCWM (Our Church’s Wider Mission), One Great Hour of Sharing, Strengthen the Church, Neighbors in Need and the Christmas Fund Offering, you have also sent two teams to Back Bay Mission, gifted other folk with gifts to assist them in living a more peaceful and satisfied life. I commend you for pursuing all of these mission opportunities. I hope you will continue to answer the "call" of God to mission locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
I would also ask you to prayerfully consider pursuing a truly local mission in supporting our Seminary student Nick Ashby. We are honored to have a student go to Seminary following and answering God’s ‘call’ to the ordained ministry. We know he will receive some financial support through various grants and scholarships but his debt will still be large as the cost of Seminary is great. Let’s pursue dialogue on this and come up with creative ways of supporting him both financially and otherwise.
I also invite you to prayerfully consider how you can assist our 150th Anniversary Celebration Committee in creating a year of great celebration for our 150th Anniversary in 2009. What an exciting time to be a part of a growing Christian community.
Our Ministry Groups are in need of additional folk to serve in these marvelous capacities of service to our ministry together. I ask you to prayerfully consider volunteering to be on one of the Ministry Groups.
As you consider these different opportunities of sharing the stewardship of your life, know that the Holy Spirit will be with you as you answer the ‘call’ of God. These are opportunities of growing in faith through our ministry together. In advance, I thank you for your consideration and your volunteering as we grow in stewardship of our lives gifting God’s hope to others through our ministry together.
May God bless our journey in faith together in 2008.
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