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Sunday, January 24, 2010
Pastor's Annual Report to the Congregation
Our church's Annual Congregational Meeting just ended, with good vibes all around about where we've come to and where we're headed in the new year. Here's my report from the printed booklet we distributed to every member and guest who attended. 'Tis grace hath led us safe thus far, and grace will lead us home.
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18
How do you make your pastor happy? Any number of ways, truth be told. I do hope I have been faithful in letting so many of you know the so many times when your good words and works have lifted my heart with grateful joy. But the greatest blessing of all for your pastor comes through seeing all the ways in which you fulfill 2 Peter's twofold call: to get to know Jesus Christ more fully; and to live out that knowledge in a gracious Christ-like way.
It's akin to a teacher's joy at witnessing a former student grow so proficient in the discipline at hand as to surpass the teacher's own ability. A grateful spirit gladly celebrates the accomplishments of a friend as though they were one's own. That is exactly how I feel as I read the reports that we've collected in this booklet for the Annual Congregational Meeting of our church family.
You will find on page after page reminders of God's blessing on our life and work in the past year. And you will read numerous projections of good things to come as we work together in the days that lie ahead. I invite you to pause now and then in your reading, to give God thanks for the gifts of grace and knowledge we've all received in 2009, and to ask God's help in discerning where you will fit best among the ministries of grace and knowledge yet to come in 2010.
Our Annual Meeting includes not only these many written reports, but also a few oral presentations that celebrate some new developments in our ongoing efforts to know Christ better and embody his grace at work. I believe you will be encouraged, even excited, when you hear the good news about: our ministries to our children and youth; creative new connections between our older adults and the younger generations of our church family; and our renewed program of field trips that combine continuing education with pleasant fellowship for all ages. And that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. If time allowed, you would see and hear much more about our overflowing menu of meaningful ministries. All the more reason to keep this book handy, take in all its news, and heed its invitations to get involved.
The Annual Meeting will also include the election of new Elders and Deacons, and a financial report including the 2010 budget adopted by your Session at its last meeting. Regarding the former, I am confident that your new officers are well gifted by God to lead you in ministries of mercy (Deacons) and careful oversight of our church's life and work (Elders).
About the latter, I am sure you all rejoice with me at the way God blessed our sacrificial efforts, in November 2009, to overcome a substantial deficit in the operating budget. Thanks be to God, and thanks be to each one of you who dug down deep to give extra funds that helped us end the year successfully. The national economy in this new year is still overshadowed by uncertainty, of course; and yet our faith is strong that God will provide all that we need to continue our numerous programs of training God's people in knowing Christ and living by his grace.
posted by Jack Buckley at
1:31 PM
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