Dear Fellow Children of God,
This year many St. John members are using a “Gratitude
Journal” in our daily devotions. This
journal is a tool to help us remember to thank God for the daily blessings in
our life, blessings that we might otherwise forget. I think you would like to know that there is
a somewhat quiet reason for joy and thanks going on right in our midst. However, not many realize the depth of the
reason for joy. And, to a certain extent
the silence about this blessing is by design.
On Thursday night we had our last supervision meeting
during the school year for our Stephen Ministry at St. John. Some of you know that Stephen Ministry is a
planned effort of distinctively Christian care giving in a Christian congregation.
Stephen Ministers receive 6 months of training in skills like listening,
confidentiality, and bringing the love of Jesus to the difficult situations in
life. After training, Stephen Ministers
are assigned to people who are willing to have a Christian friend confidentially
walk with them through a life challenge.
Stephen Ministers have a goal of meeting weekly with their “Care
Receiver” for about an hour a week in order to be a Christian friend during the
challenges of being a child of God in a world of sin and trouble.
Stephen Ministers also meet twice a month for supervision
and continued training. (During the
summer months, St. John Stephen Ministers meet only once a month.) In these supervision meetings, Stephen
Ministers share their ministry with other Stephen Ministers in a way that does
not reveal who their care receiver is, but in a way that lets other Stephen
Ministers know the challenges facing this caring relationship. The other Stephen Ministers then use the
knowledge they have from their training and experience to help the individual
Stephen Minister to be faithful in bringing God’s love to their planned caring
relationship.
This may all sound somewhat technical, but I share this
to tell you a reason that I am thankful for the quiet blessings that are
happening in our midst. As the St. John
Stephen Ministers met in supervision this past Thursday and shared the
challenges of their confidential Christian caring relationships, it was evident
to all those present how God is working in good ways in the lives of His
people. In spite of the many challenges
of life, those receiving the care were blessed because God was bringing His
love through our Stephen Ministers.
During supervision on Thursday night we all had a moment of joyful
realization that God is bringing His love and help in powerful ways in our
midst.
I am reminded of the words of St. Paul written to his
fellow Christians in Philippi. “ 3 I
thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I
always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first
day until now,” (Philippians 1:3-5)
Notice two reasons for which Paul gives thanks to
God. First, he is obviously thankful for
his fellow Christians. God’s plan for
His children is that we not only need God and His love and forgiveness and
help, but we also need other children of God to help us in our difficult walk
of faith. But, the other reason Paul
gives thanks is the partnership in the gospel he shared
with the people in Philippi. A Christian
congregation is made up of many people of God with many gifts and
abilities. What a blessing to work with
others who are gifted to share the forgiving and saving love of Jesus.
On Friday morning, a reason for thanks I wrote in my
Gratitude Journal was our Stephen Ministers.
So how about you? Who is blessing
you with the love of God? Why not tell
them what Paul told the Philippians? “I thank my God every time I remember you.”
A Child of God, Thankful for the Gifts of God in the
People of God,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Please note below that the lady who shared the
“Gratitude Journal” with the members of St. John has a request of rental
housing for members of her family.
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am
sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and
friends whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new names of friends
and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)
However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll
gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know
someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their
e-mail address.
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