Day by day,
Day by day,
Oh Dear Lord,
three things I pray:
To see thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly, Lord
Day by day.
Happy 2017! I hope the start of a new calendar year is finding you and your family healthy, safe, and blessed with a sense of God's abundant love.
As a new year begins, we often make "New Year's Resolutions" to be more intentional about personal practices we know will do us good. Among mine are to get more consistent about good sleep and exercise. But also, we as a congregation have made a resolution for 2017, which we hope will benefit not just our current members, but all those around us who need hope, healing and the Good News of God's grace.
We are beginning a visioning process for Living Grace that will help solidify our sense of mission. What exactly is Living Grace here to do for its surrounding community? What is our unique role to play in sharing the Good News of Jesus in southern Frederick County?
To work toward that vision, we will begin by doing a lot of listening. We have formed some teams to help listen to our surrounding community, to each other, and to God. This process is meant as a way for our whole congregation to work toward a sense of vision and mission that comes, not just from one person or a few people, but from the Holy Spirit, moving through our congregation and community.
Very soon, you will hear about some cottage meetings, which will be our opportunity to listen to each other: to share our own stories about what Living Grace has meant to us, and what it might do in the future. This is one very important way each member can be part of setting our course for the coming year. I heartily encourage all members, no matter how active or inactive you've been in the past, to take part.
I will also be forming a weekly study group to help us "listen to God" in our lives and the life of Living Grace. I have extended invitations to a few members, but if you feel called to the task of reflection and prayer, I hope you will get in touch and let me know. The schedule is still being determined.
The song I posted above (it's an oldie, but a goodie) works well for the season of Epiphany: the revealing of Christ, not just to a select few, but to all the nations. My prayer is that the first few months of 2017 will hold some "Epiphanies" for Living Grace, which will light our path through the coming years. I hope you'll join us on this exciting journey!
In Christ,
Pastor Tim
