It happens every year around here: Annual Conference and then Bible School! Each is exciting in its own way. Each has much to offer in terms of inspiration. Even though I am a more active participant in Conference (it’s required!), I enjoy being involved in Bible School. I love seeing the children’s face as they learn and grow together in the faith. I love seeing the faces of the teachers and other leaders as they open up new spiritual arenas for the children. The church building still rocks for several days after the closing session on Thursday!
On Monday morning we had 254 children enrolled. If I hadn’t heard the number, I would have been quite certain that it’s more like 500. At any rate, these children and their leaders will be looking for God all week. Each day a child experiences a God-sighting, she/he will place a tea light on the altar. Wow! What if we did a similar thing? What if we all would become more conscious of the times we see God and could do something to commemorate that? I encourage you to be looking for God between the time you read this and when we come together for worship this Sunday. In that way, we will be even more ready to celebrate the week of VBS with our children this Sunday.
Because we want everyone to be able to see, hear and enjoy our VBS children, our Journey and traditional worship folks will worship together this Sunday. In this blended service, we will be blessed by music from the Journey band, the chancel choir at 11:00 (actually, it’s the women’s chorus this week) and the children. It will be exciting to have the opportunity to see folks from each end of the church building and to worship together.
Having been appointed to you for another year as your senior pastor, I look forward to sharing with you this Sunday my hopes and dreams for our congregation in the coming year. With our building project soon to be behind us, we will find ourselves – I trust – “oohing” and “aahing” not only over the improvements to the building but also on the ways in which God continues to work among us. I am so pleased we have not “lost a beat” in our ministry in spite of the detours and temporary closures in our building. Now, though, we won’t have to try to figure out “how to get there” but concentrate on what we are going to do once we are there!
Melissa Smith will share the pulpit as she also helps to move us into one of the greatest years FCUMC has ever experienced. I believe this will be a very significant Sunday as we all worship together and pray together for the year that lies ahead of us. Let us not waste the time God is giving us in this my 8th year, Melissa in her 7th year, and Don in his 8th year.
For me, the highlight of Annual Conference was seeing my name, along with Don’s and Melissa’s, beside Fountain City United Methodist Church in the book of appointments. I am so blessed to be able to serve you and to serve God with you. I am no less excited now than I was eight years ago. Come, let us worship together this Sunday. Let’s bring in chairs!
- Jim
