Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 148:13-14
This is the last Messenger of 2018, written here on one of the last days of what was an eventful year for this community. It’s the perfect time to remember our purpose: to be the discipling people of God proclaiming life, light, and hope to all we meet. Psalms like Psalm 148 are a great place to find words to approach this task.
It’s also a great time to say “thank you.” We’ve just closed out a beautiful, busy Advent season where we were able to bless our neighbors with a nativity, a concert, an accessible space, and many, many more gifts. This took the time, effort, dedication, and generosity of many in this church to pull off, and I’m thankful for all that work. Michael Giangreco, president of the Whitehouse Wind Symphony, shared a letter thanking many by name which you can read on the bulletin board closest to the office. Gretchen Gardner, our Office Manager, also left a beautiful note of gratitude you can read there. Michael closed his letter out with this paragraph:
We really enjoyed performing at Flemington United Methodist Church, and hope that we can coordinate another performance there soon. The acoustics were beautiful, and the people very welcoming! I think we all felt the spirit of Christmas that night. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and have a very happy New Year!
That’s great to hear – both to be reminded that we are blessed with this wonderful space for worship and also that we as a community welcomed them well.
I personally am grateful for each of you. I am grateful for and humbled by the generous gift I received from you all this Christmas. I am grateful for the seeds we continue to plant and for the work God has laid before us for 2019. I am hopeful that the year to come will be full of its own joys, surprises, concerns, and more. Finally, I am once more brought to a place of holy remembrance that everything I do, everything I work toward, is to bring myself and others to mindful awareness of and relationship with this God-with-us, Emmanuel, we continue to celebrate this Christmas season.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Ben
Christmas Weekend Worship Updates