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THE e-MESSENGER The
newsletter of June
2007 The Vision /Mission Statement of the “To
love and Serve God and neighbor with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” |
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Rev. Dr. J. Samuel
Subramanian, Ph.D.~ Pastor From the
Pastor’s Desk . . . Dear Brothers and Sisters in
Christ, Jesus sends seventy of his followers
on a training mission, out into the villages to spread the good news of God’s
kingdom – a kingdom of love, forgiveness, and eternal life. Jesus knows that
our world is ripe with need, a world in which the harvest is plentiful for
those who wish to share God’s good news of love. “The harvest is plentiful,
but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send our
laborers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2). We know that laborers are few today,
just as they were in Jesus’ day. We know that the harvest is plentiful, in a
world where fewer than 40 percent, often as low as 15 to 20 percent of people
in our neighborhoods connect their faith with a church community. And yet, we may hesitate to labor in
the fields of this world. We may be unsure of how to share our faith journey
with others. We may be insecure about answering questions regarding what we
believe and why. We may be nervous about associating with people who aren’t
in the church. Or may be we’re just so busy and overwhelmed that we don’t
think about inviting a neighbor to church or vacation Bible school. May be
our schedule is so crowded that we can’t find the time to talk about our
faith journey with a new Christian. Despite our objections, however,
Christ calls us into the same discipleship as those first followers were
called. It’s safe to assume that even those seventy were not feeling prepared
for what they had to face in their travels and ministries. Jesus calls us to
enter the households of strangers and proclaim God’s peace. We get a taste
for what that means in worship when we take a moment to greet our neighbors.
This is our opportunity to share God’s peace with the people around us and to
share Christ’s love with the new people we encounter. In doing so, we build a
community of faith and love where people experience the peace that passes all
understanding. But how do we share that peace with
people who do not worship with us? How do we go out into the world, into the
homes of friends and neighbors and family members to share the good news of
God’s love? We do so by offering God’s peace and hospitality in our words and
actions. We can be the laborers who will reap God’s harvest. God has called us
to labor in this world until every person we encounter knows Jesus Christ,
every sad soul we find experiences God’s love, and every family or child or
elderly in our neighborhood knows that in Christ’s church they can find a
friendly face and a warm community. The Holy Spirit is granting us the power
and the grace to get out into the fields and start the labor. The harvest is
plentiful. The fields are ripe for harvest. We can be the laborers who bring
in that harvest. Grace
and Peace! ~
Pastor Samuel ~ |
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