Last Sunday we celebrated our church anniversary with a service led by Rev. Rob Cotton. A large congregation joined in prayers for our church past and present, for the worldwide church and for those afflicted by wars and natural disasters. In a prayer of dedication we repeated the words “Help us to know and to do your will.”
Taking his text from Acts 2, the early Christian church, Rob spoke of three requirements for a Kingdom community: To listen to God in prayer, hearing and observing the needs of our community and individuals therein. To provide for those needs in practical ways. To follow Christ’s commandment to love one another by being a loving family, making our church a welcoming and spiritually calming place. To learn from other churches adapting our practices to our present situation. The future is challenging. Young people are seeking spiritual food in our churches. We can’t rely on the past but must keep in mind our vision to be strong, obedient disciples, to make more disciples and to reach out in love to serve our community.
After a prayer to be a listening, loving, learning church Rob served Holy Communion and we sang Go forth and tell, O church of God awake.