Are We Making a Difference? You Might Say So...

Oftentimes in church we hear stories and encouragement about being faithful to our calling even though we may not always see tangible or immediate fruits of our faithfulness. Many times, this can get frustrating, for we attempt to do our very best, and wonder at times if it makes any difference at all.

Well, this week I received this note, a note that I want to share with you as a reminder that through our faithfulness, lives are touched and impacts are made.

In the aftermath of Isaac, and the major effect it had with all that water in our beautiful community, several from our church went out into the community to deliver cleaning buckets to those in need.  Here's a note I received this week in response to those efforts - 

Dear Pastor Oliver:

Thank you to you and your congregation for delivering the clean-up supply bucket following Hurricane Isaac.  We recently moved to this area and were so grateful for the support offered by your church, even though we are not members.  I hope this modest donation helps someone else in their time of need.  Again, many sincere thanks.

Ric & Beth

What a word of encouragement, especially since the delivery of said buckets was the result of our connectional nature and the efforts of our local congregation - in other words, Methodism at its finest!

Tomorrow night, as we gather for our Charge Conference, in addition to greeting our new District Superintendent, the Rev. Hadley R. Edwards, and doing the usual business of the charge conference, I will be sharing the annual report of the pastor, and I am honored to list this as one of the many ways in which you, the saints of the church, have helped spread the good news of Christ's love in through, word, and deed, inside and beyond the walls of our congregation.

May God's richest blessings be upon you and yours today, and may we always stay faithful to our calling to be people who love the Lord our God with everything we have, and our neighbor as ourselves.

See You Sunday!

Lamar