Economic Stress For Followers of the Way of Jesus
November 17, 2008
November is upon us, the season of Thanksgiving. As I sit to write this because of deadlines it is still October and the stock market has gone off kilter in a big way, causing I am sure a fair amount of stress and panic on the part of all of us.
Our material things do play a huge part in our lives. Being able to pay our rent or mortgage, having
food on the table and living in a style our culture demands puts a lot of stress on us. As followers of the Way of Jesus, we are challenged to step back and to reflect on what it is we are becoming on this journey in life.
We are created in the image of God, but we are challenged to grow into the likeness of God. The
likeness of God centers in trust, love and hope. Thanksgiving helps us to think of all that God has
done for us, and to give our thanks because the very breath of life is a gift from God.
So as Jesus said, “We shall let the day’s problems be sufficient for today.” We shall try not to worry about tomorrow.
This month we will be hearing about service, as one of the four keys of growing as the family of God. This is something people at Holy Trinity understand well. I look forward to our sharing about this.
There also will be reports of our stewardship efforts and what that will mean for 2009 and some progress with the architect toward our new building. We are almost done with the roof repairs and the fixing of many things in the sanctuary and the office building.
Don’t forget the special worship on Thanksgiving Eve at 7:30 PM. Come join us!
See you in church,
Pastor Frank
As we enter into the summer, full blast, I am excited by a couple of things. We will be moving ahead on the building program and having meetings to help us focus on the design of the new fellowship hall and what a remodeled fellowship hall might look like.
We are continuing to try to reach our goal on the money we need to move ahead. This is an act of faith, I believe, in a shaky economy. We are also putting together a 50th Anniversary celebration committee to move us ahead for 2009 and 2010.
We are moving ahead with plans for new small groups and other ministries in the fall along with some real strides in Family Ministry. As Holy Trinity “gets older” it is also working at getting younger or renewing itself. This is a good process. I believe that we are incredibly blessed, because we have the freedom to do all of this work without worry of persecution or being arrested.
The freedom we have in the USA is something we all take for granted, but is something that is a gift and has been for only a relatively short time. Freedom demands our vigilance and our concern. Freedom also challenges us to respond to our responsibility to our neighbors and our communities.
Within this freedom we proclaim Christ crucified and risen again. We proclaim new life for all who would
follow Him. What a gift we have. Celebrate that gift this month of July.
