Closing the books on 2021
Happy blustery Friday!
My goodness the temperatures have been cold this week. I pray that you are all staying warm as we consider those who may not have shelter or heat. The Kim family is moving in to their home in Tulsa this weekend and we hope that it will go smoothly. Watch Pastor Talk for my interview with Seungrok this week.
We are working to try and close the books on the year 2021. I celebrate and give thanks for the generosity of the faithful after a hard year with many ups and downs. But you came through Faith! I also give thanks for the wonderful staff that I work with everyday who kept our expenditures to a minimum.
I received an email inviting me to a workshop on “Re-centering Your Mission” that made me thankful that I had already decided that we should embrace who we are for the month of January. Last Sunday, we celebrated the wonderful atmosphere and people that are Faith UMC in worship. This week we will consider the value of “Learning for Life.” John Wesley called this Sanctification and emphasized how important it is that we continue to study the scriptures.
Next Sunday we will complete the re-centering work with a reminder of why we serve and who we serve. As we remember and focus, I want to invite you to make your annual pledge to the work of Jesus through this congregation. We did not have a pledge drive last fall and based our budget on actual giving and spending trends. But some of you have mailed in a statement of commitment with a pledge for the year. It reminded me that this pledge has meaning and helps us re-center on how we live out our faithfulness. So thank you for the reminder and prompting to invite others to share their hearts and commitment to our congregation.
So if you would like to let us know of your intent for February through the end of the year, please email gmoore@faithtulsa.org or lburns@faithtulsa.org.
Next, we have heard that there are many, many families in our congregation who have been in quarantine or have gotten CoVid. I pray that changes for the next week and only declines for the following weeks. We are praying for the health and strength of you all. Thank you to all of you who adapted to wearing masks again last Sunday. I give thanks that we have options so all of you can participate in a way that feels safe.
Speaking of last Sunday, we had a visitor who loved hearing about our values and decided to join our church. I was blessed to get to visit with Bill Clevenger and hear his story on Thursday. Make sure you tell him how happy we are to have him join us!
Peace,
