CELEBRATE, PARTICIPATE, AND COMMUNICATE: SHARE THE JOY!
March is a time to celebrate. Spring will soon be “sprung.” Flowers begin to bloom, temperatures turn upward, days lengthen, St. Patrick’s Day serves corn beef and cabbage, March Madness crowns a new basketball champion, baseball begins a new season, and we move from the darkness of winter to the light of Easter and renewed faith.
Most significant for me is that our church celebrates what the hand of God has done in our midst over the past year. Today, Sunday, March 1 serves as Lincoln Hills Community Church’s annual meeting—a day to reflect on the previous year, and look ahead to being part of what God will do at LHCC in the coming year. It is also a time to affirm our new Elders and cast a vision for our partnership with the Holy Spirit in sharing the joy of God’s Kingdom with the community around us.
This year has seen a great many movements forward. In all we have added 75 new members and that on top of 73 the previous year. We have also seen the final step toward a ministry of feeding the homeless and helping them begin to find a way back to renewed hope. As of this writing we have held two nights of feeding and providing a place to sleep for 60 participants in the Gathering Inn Program. Not only have we helped 60 people find hope and a step toward a return to normal life, but we have also seen over 50 of our congregation experience the joy of being the servant hands of Jesus.
Most significant of all, in my mind at least, is God leading us to the calling of Jody Shorkey as our new Associate Pastor. Our search committee spent much time praying and thinking on the kind of person we would need to be part of our ministry team. It took nearly a year and a half but the wait was worth it. Jody and his wife Tricia have been a joyous addition to our church staff.
Yes, March is a time to celebrate. And I hope you will celebrate with us today on this Celebration Sunday. But most of all, I hope you will participate with our church as we seek to be the hands and the feet of Jesus Christ is our community. “Share the Joy” was a logo I suggested in the early weeks and months after I arrived at LHCC. It remains a good logo for what we continue to be about in this church.
Pastor Mike
