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From the Conference Minister:
"Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." Matthew 25
In the hustle of holiday preparations, it's easy to forget that the divine often wears the cloak of the ordinary. The ones we may overlook, the marginalized and forgotten, carry the imprint of the divine. We become, our churches become, vessels of grace in a world hungering for compassion when we share the abundance that comes in many forms.
In the midst of that abundance, we remember those who hunger for more than a seat at our tables — those who yearn for justice, peace, compassion, and a sense of belonging. The Gospel challenges you and me to extend hospitality beyond the comfortable circles of our personal lives and shared faith lives to embrace the stranger, in the vast landscapes of our hearts as well as our homes.
Thanksgiving is, among many things, a celebration of plenty. It is also an opportunity for a spiritual audit, a moment to reflect on the ways in which our lives intersect with the needs of others — or doesn’t. Gratitude for the common list of things for which we’re understandably grateful provides a measure of the quality of how we share not the quantity of what we possess.
I pray this Thanksgiving will be more than a feast for the body; that it will be a feast for the soul — a sacred gathering where love, compassion, and gratitude defeat the division and darkness of too many days. And where the echoes of Matthew 25 remind us that in serving others, we encounter the divine that dwells in and among us all.
With prayers of gratitude for you,
Pastor Bill
Rev. Bill Worley
Conference Minister
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