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Pastor's Perspective

We offer continued thanksgivings and prayerful appreciation for all of you who have submitted pledges to support the ministries of our church for 2010.  We continue to receive pledges that help to raise our potential for meeting some challenging financial goals this year.  Your generous response has been very encouraging and uplifting, especially as we assume responsibility for the costs of building our new Ministry Activity Center.

Rob Roosa, Chair of our Finance Committee, will submit an ambitious and promising 2010 budget for the approval of our Church Council on Thursday, January 28. We are in no position to relax our efforts, but we already can be thankful for the many blessings that are helping us to build a positive and infectious enthusiasm for our mission, “Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

John Wesley, the founding leader of the Methodist movement and the doctrinal father of our United Methodist Church, had notably high regard for Baptism and Holy Communion as means of grace.  He believed that God imparts immense gifts for our forgiveness, spiritual healing, reconciliation with God, salvation, and sanctification through these sacraments.

While we receive the sacrament of Baptism only once, he encouraged our frequent renewal of our baptismal covenant with God, our promises and our professions of faith in Christ.

Our participation in Holy Communion (or the Lord’s Supper), however, is repetitive.  Wesley believed we should pray for and receive those means of grace frequently—weekly, or even several times a week.

In recent years the United Methodist Church has deepened its convictions about our Wesleyan approach to doctrine and practices.  One result of our current Wesleyan revival is a fresh emphasis on the frequency of the administration of the sacrament of Holy Communion—urging churches to make the sacrament available weekly.

Therefore, beginning with the first Sunday in Lent, February 21, we will be offering Holy Communion at the 8:20 a.m. service each Sunday at least through Easter.   We will use the full Communion liturgy on first Sundays, and a briefer form of the Great Thanksgiving on other Sundays.  Also to accommodate the time needed for the sacrament, we will try doing without children’s time at the early service, also beginning February 21.   We will try this worship “experiment” to evaluate our potential for continuing this approach to offering Holy Communion on a weekly basis.

Grace and peace,

Ray Kiser