Birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas this week!

Today I am excited that I get to pick up my youngest child from the airport as he returns home for my birthday and Thanksgiving with the family. It has been a year since we have been together and I have been able to wrap my arms around the man that he has become. This season of thankfulness is my very favorite. It has always been the most important family gathering in my life. Often my grandmother would invite the Methodist minister and his family to join us so we would behave. (I’m smiling at how that didn’t always work.) And we would gather up any people we knew had no family to be with us in Okmulgee or from far off places. My cousins would bring people home from college with them so they wouldn’t be alone. We never had a “kid’s table” because my grandmother felt that the physical connection of the tables was significant and reminded us that we were all connected to each other. So today I want to reflect on the connectedness of our church family and how important you are to each other and to me.

I am thankful for those who have served in leadership this year as I struggled along trying to figure out my new role.

I am thankful for those who stepped up to welcome on Sunday morning and embody our value of “leading with love.”

I am thankful for those who pray for and encourage me and often feed me so that I know that this burden is ours together.

I am thankful for the incredible staff that I ge to work with and for each and every day.

And I am so thankful for all of you in this church family who are journeying with me in a world that can sometimes feel soul crushing. I am so thankful we have each other. That you call and visit and love each other. This attitude of being thankful is good for our souls.

So I need to talk about money. Thank you to all of you who have so faithfully given to the General Fund of Faith. You keep the employees on staff, the lights on, the rooms stocked and the missions happening. Without you, none of these things would be possible. I pray that our giving will be abundant and we can covenant together to continue all of the ministries of Faith. I ask you to please bring your Pledge card back on Nov. 27th if you haven’t done so yet. Why do we need pledge cards? Because they help us plan for the next year and if we don’t know that funds will be coming, then we start to cut people and ministries from the budget. Right now we are about 1/3 of where we need to be for 2023. If you would like to set up regular giving without any bank fees, please contact Glen Moore and he will help you set that up. That way when you travel or forget, your giving will be stress free and the church that you love so much will continue to serve God and God’s people in significant ways.

Finally, Sunday is my birthday. It’s weird to have it on Sunday but I am inviting you to join me at Noon for a decorating party. Jon and I will provide lunch for all those who stay and help set up the Advent/Christmas decorations.

Giving thanks,