Reflections From Sunday Evening

In spite of the snow and cold we had a good day at church. Sometimes "impact" is a better measurement than "how many". Today seemed to me to be a day of spiritual impact. Thanks to Pastor Ginger for leading us in the message and the anointing with oil along with Holy Communion. In our tradition Communion is known as a "means of grace". That means we believe that the risen Lord Jesus Christ is present in the act of communion. Communion is generally recognized as a means of feeding the soul and perfecting us in love. But our founder, John Wesley, also perceived Holy Communion as being a "converting ordinance". There is no reason why a person could not experience the new birth at the Lord's Table. Today we included anointing as a reminder that ours is a God who heals. When we stand in the presence of the Lord His grace stirs our souls. We trust Jesus as our healer. We anticipate that today some experienced greater wholeness of spirit, mind and body. On another note... Next Sunday at 12:30 we will have our Church Conference to address our building project. This is the final congregational vote where we seek your approval to move forward with the project to construct a new worship center, connecting building, youth center and support space. We will also ask your approval for the projects financial plan. This is a great step in the life of our church. We believe that our decisions made now will have impact on generations to come. I hope you will come and be part of this moment in our church's history. I have mentioned that raising the money and building the building is the "easy" part. We are embarking on an adventure where we will be called to reach a new generation for Christ. We can expect God to effect some exciting change in our church. We can expect God to do some amazing things. It's been a good day. I hope you've had a good day too. steve