- Mood:
It has been a good while since I have posted an entry in my blog. Like most parents of school-aged children, September was a blur for me. Don't get me wrong, good stuff has been happening!
I thank God for every day, even the busy ones...
Our family has been getting used to the idea of not having Zoe (our dog) with us. The Lord has blessed us all with good health, good friends, and a good church family here at Jackson First Pres.
I am really pleased with the Monday afternoon class that I have been leading that has an attendance of 15-16 as we discuss together the really well-done NOOMA DVDs by Rob Bell that deal with issues of Christian discipleship.
God has recently blessed our church with a $75,00 bequest that will enable us to do some things around the church and mission outside.
I am also thankful that our Monday class has adopted a women's Bible study group that meets in the women's prison in Plymouth, MI. We are purchasing Life Recovery Bibles and shipping them to the women who are recovering from their addictions and who desperately need God's Word and love. If it can be worked out, there will be a penpal relationship that our Bible study group will have with their Bible study group. Even though Jackson is sometimes nicknamed, "The Prison City", our church has done little prison ministry historically. I am grateful for the moving of the Spirit in this.
This past Sunday, October 7, I preached as part of a pulpit exchange at the North Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo. North Pres is a small, inner city church that reaches out to folks who don't fit in to your traditional blue-collar church--persons with disabilities, the chronically mentally ill, the impoverished, people with little or no education.
Even though the worship service there was one hour and 35 minutes long (Holy Communion AND Holy Baptism), and without AC on rare 90 degree day in October, I left there feeling refreshed and amped up by the spirit of love and mercy I experienced. The time flew by!
Pastor Linda MacDonald from North Presbyterian of Kalamazoo will be coming to our church to preach on November18 when she brings her handbell choir. This is a very special handbell choir. You do not need to read music to play. Pastor Linda has colored flash cards that the ringers follow when the color of their bell is flashed. What fun!
Blessings to all of you who read this blog...pj
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