Dear CUMC Friends –
Happy New Year! 2008 was an enormous year, wasn’t it? So many transitions, big events, global happenings. The world economic crisis, the U.S. elections, ongoing wars around the world, a year when change was the norm, the Summer Olympics – whew! (Not to mention two new pastors at Campbell United Methodist Church!) 2008 was so huge, it needed an extra day to fit everything in so they added a February 29th for good measure!
When we flip calendars from one year to the next, many of us take the opportunity to flip some things in our lives, too. We call them “New Year Resolutions.” I have a few I’d like to suggest, if you are looking for a list. How about prayers, presence, gifts, service, witness?
1 – Support your church with your prayers. Pray for one another and for the ministries of your congregation sincerely, regularly, and with a sense of hope and expectancy.
2 – Be present at church. Attend worship each week, and maybe even one or two of the weekday happenings, too. The church exists most fully when people gather together (Jesus said, “Where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name, I will be there”), so be present as the church.
3 – Give generously of your time, energy, resources, and talents to the ministries of your congregation. Give in grateful discipleship because God gives in such gracious abundance.
4 – Support the ministries of the congregation by serving others. Volunteer for Crosslines, The Kitchen, Rainbow Network, a mission trip, or one of your own passions. Serve at a church function. Give money in support of a person in mission. Assume the attitude of a servant.
5 – In all you say, in all you do, in all of your relationships, in everything that comprises you, witness to your faith in our loving creator God, the gracious presence of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Be a living witness for Christ in every moment.
How’s that for a starting point? Imagine if we all resolved in 2009 to be the church in prayer, presence, gifts, service, and witness – what a year 2009 will be!
Happy New Year, and may God bless us all,
Andy B.
