October

Dear Family of God,

It is hard to believe it is already October. But the truth is that God is always calling us forward. God is calling us forward in time, calling us forward in growth as God’s children, calling us forward in mission and ministry. There is a deep truth in the saying that we are either growing or dying.

We as the people of God at Trinity are always being called forward. We are called forward in our giving, as we will experience in the Stewardship focus that is coming in October. We are called to grow in generosity. We are called to grow in our responsibility as members of the body of Christ. We are called to grow in gratitude. We are called to grow in our giving to the work of the Gospel and our giving to Trinity. We are called to give money- yes money- to carry on the work of the church. But even more we are called to give ourselves to God in new and exciting ways.

We are called to move forward in mission. We are called to offer God’s love into the ever-changing world we live in. We have been called in the past to give to the needs of the hungry and the homeless. We have been called in the past to care for those with suicidal ideologies and people in foreign lands who need to hear the gospel. We have been called to hear the cries of the aging and the young in their need. But today we are called to hear new calls. We are called to hear the cries of those who are struggling with opioid addiction. We are called to notice the cries of the immigrant and refugee among us. We are called to be a voice for peace and unity in an ever more divided and contentious world. We need to grow in the ministry that we are doing. At Adult Forums throughout the month we will be asking what new thing is God calling us to do. Come and share in the struggle.

Most of all we are called to move forward in loving God and one another. It is always uncomfortable to face change and growth. But the essence of life is growth, is change, is movement into a new day. That is symbolized in the new commitments our confirmands will make on October 13th. You are invited to come and renew your commitment to growth with them. One of the most powerful images in the book of Acts is at the very beginning of the book. Jesus has ascended into heaven. For the disciples, everything has changed. What are they to do now? They stand looking up to where Jesus has gone, and some angels appear and speak these words:

‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

What are we doing standing around? Jesus will return, but in the meantime, there is work to do and love to share. The Church should never be standing in place. We should always be moving forward. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower and it is ok to rest and celebrate some, but in the end, we are called to move forward, trusting in the grace of God.

Let’s go,

Pastors Cris and Dave