With A Thankful Heart
Happy Thanksgiving!
In the context of our church, I want to share with you five things I’m thankful for.
#1) I’m thankful for the generosity of this congregation, exhibited in the invitation we received for our family to come over for Thanksgiving! My phone chirped Sunday evening with a generous invite to crash their family celebrations when they heard we didn’t have anything planned. Even though we had to decline, my heart was so warmed nonetheless!
#2) I’m thankful for a staff that is working tirelessly, right up until the holidays, to ensure that our church and wider community are being cared for and blessed, especially at this season. The office is a buzz of activity today and our staff is remarkable!
#3) I’m thankful for a Nominating Committee who has prayed and studied and courageously stepped out to discern God’s will over the past four months, stretching themselves in many ways and growing too. I’m very excited for the slate of nominees – deacons, elders, future nominating committee members and an auditor that will all serve with creativity and love!
#4) I’m thankful for a Session filled with elders who themselves are growing – in their love for God, for each other and for our greater community. To hear them study and pray… I got goosebumps just the other night as we gathered together.
#5) I’m thankful for the opportunity to grow among you. For the ongoing work of God in my life, that in a decade, I’m not the same person or pastor that I was when I came in 2014, and it’s thanks to God and to you for your grace. And it’s through reading and studying and praying and worshipping, together.
With that said, I want to highlight a podcast I’ve been listening to recently that God’s been using to form me in what feels like very profound ways, called the “Being Known” podcast. There’s just SO MUCH there for all of us who are seeking God, to grow in our relationship with Jesus and to be more formed by him. It’s just one of the ways that God has been working on me lately, and I can’t recommend it enough. So if you’re traveling over Thanksgiving, and want something to listen to – give it a whirl!
And speaking of Thanksgiving, I just want to remind you that…
Thursday, we host an absolutely FREE Thanksgiving Dinner through the Canonsburg-Houston Ministerial Association between 12pm and 2pm in the Fellowship Hall.
AND…
Sunday begins the Season of Advent, as we look at The Gifts of Christmas, beginning with Expectancy. More Advent Devotionals are available in print version and the digital version is available on our website and if you’re a Church Member, please stick around for the BRIEF Congregational Meeting following Sunday’s 11am worship service for acting on the slate of nominees being brought!
Thankful… to be Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus,
Pastor Don