Dear Grace Church Family,
God’s grace and peace to each of you this day. I have so much on my mind to share with you this morning, but sometimes all that is whirling in our world needs to stop and all our eyes need to turn to something more important. We are in such a time as this. The devastation brought on by Hurricane Helene has been described by some to be of biblical proportions. My hope is that the relief efforts underway right now and recovery efforts that will be going on for months and years to come will communicate to those impacted that God’s love is very real.
Flood Relief
I want to thank Gary Beatovich and our Missions Team for helping us to organize a flood relief bucket collection effort. The Florida Conference has depleted the reserve buckets and are calling for them to be replaced. Any buckets not used will be delivered to places of need elsewhere. We will be taking up a special offering on Sunday that will go towards relief efforts. If you are writing a check, designate it to missions/Hurricane Helene. If you are giving online, use the drop-down menu, give to missions, and put Hurricane Helene in the memo line.
Our United Methodist Committee on Relief builds partnerships to get resources where they are most needed. We should be proud to be a United Methodist in moments like this. Many of you have loved ones and family members that were impacted. Please send their names in so our prayer team can hold them in prayer. I want to thank you for being such a generous congregation. It is a beautiful thing to know in advance how well you will work together to be a part of bridging God’s love to those who need this message right now. Let our LOVE be LOUD.
Stewardship
October is the month when I historically begin to educate you on stewardship, so that you can make your best decisions on your giving. John Wesley was famously quoted as saying, “Earn all you can, Save all you can, and Give all you can.” In times like these, knowing there are people in places right now without water, I want us to be thinking about stewardship, so that we are positioned in the best way possible to be the Church we want to be in this world. Your financial resources are an investment in the Kingdom of God and only three months in, I think we do such beautiful work here being the hands and feet of Christ. Please begin to pray over your finances.
We are called as members of this community to commit in other ways. We are called to pray for one another, give the gift of our presence to one another, serve with one another, share our gifts (both financial and spiritual), and give witness to the ways God’s love is at work in the world around us. My prayer is that God will grow our generosity muscle, so that we are able to strengthen our capacity to fulfill God’s mission for us here on this beautiful island and all over the world. Let our love be loud friends.
Our Stewardship campaign is titled, “Taking our Next Step,” which is following up on the theme of the sermon series I began with, “Let the journey begin!” I believe God has big things in store for us, so my first invitation to you is to be in prayer about your finances, to be able to make good decisions on your giving. Be in prayer about your time and talent, to be able to make good decisions on ways you might be able to serve. Be in prayer for our church, that we might continue to order ourselves to best meet the needs of our community and the world.
Sunday Sermon
This Sunday is World Communion Sunday, and the sermon is looking at Jeremiah 29:11-13. This is the last sermon in the“Multiplying Love,” series. When I put this series together, I was not sure about ending on this text, but the Holy Spirit works in beautiful ways. There is a message for us all. I look forward to seeing you all in person or online.
Questions:
1. If we were organizing a mission team to participate in flood relief efforts, would you have interest in being a part of this effort?
2. Do you have a story about how your financial giving has impacted your spiritual walk? We have a team working to share stories and they would love to hear yours.
As always friends,
I am so, so grateful to be…
With you on the journey!
Pastor Michelle