PASTOR’S NOTES – APRIL 1998
So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." - Matthew 28:8-10 (NRSV)
As we remember the Easter story, we recall how the women came to the tomb expecting to find the body of Jesus, but instead see angels (and then Jesus himself) who seem almost surprised that they are looking for Him at the tomb. "Go to Galilee, there they will see me."
From the start the church that began with Jesus' resurrection understood that there was nothing special about the place where His dead body was laid; the risen Lord would be present where they were normally at work. The church celebrated every Sunday (the day after the traditional Sabbath- Saturday) as Resurrection Day, and came together as a body in homes, churches, or wherever they could safely gather.
So in some ways the celebration of Easter once a year is unfortunate. As one song puts it, for the believer "every morning is Easter morning." Our work as Christians and as a church has its focus and its meaning in His resurrection. From there it is up to us to depend on the Holy Spirit working in our midst to discern specifically how we live out this Resurrection faith in our setting. But Avondale has already been at work doing this.
I have included the Mission Statement of our church at the bottom of this page, and will probably include it in the Newsletter from now on, unless we change it. This statement was approved by a Church vote October 1991 as a way of expressing both Avondale's general task of proclaiming the risen Christ and the unique tasks that confront our church in this community. In 1991 persons representing Avondale Church not only came up with that statement, but established as our primary mission field the middle corridor of Franklinton (Glenwood Ave to Rt. 315, McKinley Ave to Sullivant Ave). In addition, the following goals for the next 5-10 years were adopted:
I. To be a congregation that is committed to sharing the gospel of Jesus with our community and bringing neighborhood residents into the life of our church. It is our prayer that negative attitudes toward the community will be changed and members will be more faithful and committed to their own personal walk with Christ and our Church ministries as evidenced by:
a. An increased number of persons at Prayer services, Sunday School, and Worship;
b. Increased participation by our congregation in neighborhood ministries, both those sponsored by our church and those sponsored by our community.
II. To make ourselves better
known in the community.
III. To provide needed services in the community.
(A copy of the Church Covenant, including
goals and detail, is available in the Church office.)
A large part of my job, as I see it, is to continually remind us of the direction God calls us, and to help us all to discern the values, gifts, and goals that God will use to lead us that way.
My prayer for all of you this Easter is that you may celebrate the risen Christ every day, with every breath that we borrow from His life. Properly focused on this, I believe we will find that God indeed has a unique calling for each of us individually and for Avondale Church.
Peace,
