Because of a little scheduling mishap, we remained in town this weekend. So we did what we normally do, we joined our home church on Saturday evening for worship and then chose a different place of worship on Sunday morning.
We've had a few opportunities to share fellowship with a variety of churches this year: Alliance, United Methodist, Missionary, and yesterday an Episcopal church.
As many of you already know, I grew up in the Episcopal church, specifically St Peter's Episcopal Church in Hamden, CT. So I felt quite at home at St Alban's Episcopal surrounded by the stained glass, the acolytes, the familiar liturgy, and the common cup. Yesterday also happened to be a special day because it was Confirmation Sunday. Therefore, Stuart was able to witness the same ceremony I participated in as a 12 year old.
Yep, there I am in my cousin Tracy's First Communion dress for my Confirmation ceremony.
Bishop Ed Little preached a great message from the Gospel of Mark (1.29-39). Three simple points concerning the priorities of Jesus: People, Prayer, and Practice. After the service, both Stuart and I remarked on a particular comment the Bishop made during his first point - how often we think the interruptions in our lives are nuisances when in reality they may be God's way of reminding us of what is truly important. Jesus was often interrupted (in prayer and ministry), yet he never neglected the people who were his priority.
Stuart mentioned that this is something we need to remind teams on short-term missions trips. It's not about getting as much done as possible, it's about making people our priority. It's about building community. If you've ever been on a short-term missions trip, you know they can be plagued with interruptions. But interruptions can be God-given opportunities to make time for what is really important - people.
My take-away from the sermon had more to do with our life right now. As missionaries, coming back to the States for itineration can seem like a very inconvenient interruption. Itineration interrupts our life, our ministry, our family, and the relationships we've formed over the years. But this interruption has also allowed us to connect with some really great people and proclaim a message of hope and compassion as well as our shared responsibility in the great commission.
So by all means, feel free to interrupt our day with a prayer request, praise report, or offering to our ministry :) Let's make a difference together to proclaim release to the captives of drug addiction and to set at liberty those who are oppressed by the sex trade!
Thank you for your one-time offering or monthly commitment.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
No comments:
Post a Comment