This is my fifth fall with Prince of Peace and the fifth time this community has inspired me by its generous response to our annual giving campaign. Maintaining financial health is perhaps one of the greatest challenges for communities of faith in this day. Churches, as the manifestation of the Body of Christ, walk a very fine line between vulnerability and security. While we need to put our resources into action and take some risks for the sake of God’s mission and the concerns of our neighbors, we also need to make sure our work is thoughtfully sustainable over the long-term.
I so appreciate how our giving campaign and your commitments to its support tend to both sides of this line we walk. Your pledge to make regular gifts makes our day to day ministry possible and is integral to our ability to respond in real time to the needs that are bubbling up right now. Your investments in our Enduring Gifts Fund will help us build in the kind of sustainability we need to work farther out and into God’s future. Thank you for helping us be the church God is calling us to be.
We read from Isaiah 61 for yesterday’s worship. Today, I’m thinking about verses 10 & 11:
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.
Isaiah’s gratefulness is infectious and inspiring to me. And Isaiah’s gratitude begins and ends with God’s activity in and through creation and those created to help the whole world thrive. For 63 years, God has been accomplishing some truly wondrous things, here in the heart of Roseville and across the globe, through all that has been sown and sprung up within the garden that is Prince of Peace. Families have been nurtured, neighbors have been fed, communities have been served, love has been shared.
During this week of giving thanks, let’s begin by remembering all the ways this church has been doing powerful and important ministry, day in and day out. Then let’s consider all that this church will be able to contribute to God’s mission as we look into the future with hope and possibility.
May peace come to you this day. – Pastor Peter
Note: It’s not too late to return your 2021 Campaign Commitment Card – just pop it into the mail in the handy envelope provided. If you didn’t get one or need another, just call the office at 651-484-4144 or email office@poproseville.org.