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St. Mark's Weekly E-blast
We gather, connect, and serve so all may experience the love of Christ.
By Rev. Lynn Bartlow
Lead Pastor
With election day behind us, I am doing a happy dance- no more political advertisements on my screens and all those ugly campaign signs will go away from all the street corners! Plus allllll the postcards that go directly from my mailbox to the trash can. No more! I will rejoice in my almost-empty mailbox again.
At the same time, I do want to voice gratitude for those who serve our country, our state, and our community through elected office. I can't imagine making myself and my life so public that others can dig through my life and critique me. I mean, who among us hasn't done something that we regret, made mistakes we wished we didn't make, or are embarrassed about some part of our past? Those who are elected to public office allow their lives to become public in a way that not many of us endure. We need people to step up and serve our nation in all the different political offices. Now that the polls have closed, our work of prayer for these elected officials begins.
While you and I may not be called to service to our neighbors through elected office, we believe that all Christians are called to serve through our work in the church. There is not an age limit to that service, but we each can serve Christ throughout our lives. There is something for all of us to do to serve Christ by serving the church. The good news is, we don't scrutinize every mistake you made over your lifetime!
1 Peter 4:10-11 (NIV) says this: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ."
You are richly blessed; how can you use those gifts so that God may be praised through Jesus Christ? Maybe it's not as an elected official, but you can serve the church!
Church Conference has come and gone (did you pick up an Annual Report? They are available in the office if you still want one!). Part of that work was electing our own slate of officers in the committees of the church. Those that are Discipline-mandated are full, but we have lots more places that we need to fill up the leadership of the church. Prayer Ministry, Adult Spiritual Growth, Missions, Growth and Outreach, Church Care and Hospitality... the list goes on and on!
With this in mind, the Nominations and Lay Leadership Committee invites you to take the Volunteer Accelerator. This tool helps to name some areas that might fit your gifts, your experience, your interests. It's specific to our church and our ministry areas. If you've taken it before, take it again! You might be surprised what results you get a year later. If you've never taken it, we encourage you to do so now. It's a quick survey that will give you results immediately. Your name is kept within the church; no sharing of information beyond our leadership team!
Follow the link below to take the Volunteer Accelerator. It's another way we can be faithful stewards of what God has blessed us with, without the scrutiny of an election!
See you soon,
Pastor Lynn
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