~ by the Pastor and guest writers ~
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Yes, WE are indeed BLESSED (June 17, 2005) By Michael Pullen, Chairman for the Ministry of Worship I still remember the question posed by our most recent minister, Reverend Jesse Thornton, during one of his last sermons: “Are we a blessed church?” I even remember how I had to bite my tongue because I wanted to shout out, “YES!!! YES WE ARE!!!” If we aren’t a blessed church, then I’m more dumb and blind than I thought. We have so many members of our congregation ready to step up to the plate in a pinch-hit situation and take a cut at whatever pitch is delivered, all for the team. It doesn’t matter if it’s the bottom of the ninth inning and we’re behind by 10 runs with two away and nobody on; they eagerly pick up their bat, adjust their helmet and step into the batter’s box undaunted. I couldn’t be more proud to call you my teammates. Keeping the church running smoothly while we search for an interim minister is no small task. And there are so many behind-the-scenes people who continue to work hard in a collaborative effort to maintain some semblance of sanity in our day-to-day operations as well as in the Sunday worship service. There are several others who are here at a beck-and-call when emergencies arise. All together, they are so numerous, I couldn’t possibly name them all here. (I could, but then nothing else would get into the newsletter.) Nevertheless, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This church is forever grateful to your unwavering service. And then there are those from within our congregation who are willing to stand up in front of the congregation each Sunday and deliver the message. This is a blessed church indeed when members like Gywn Kozma, Jan Seale and John Gillies are more than willing to preach to us. As chairman of the Ministry of Worship and the one responsible for filling the pulpit each Sunday, I personally am so thankful and so overwhelmed by your generosity. This church will be just as blessed in the coming weeks when Rick Sunday graces the pulpit with his Father’s Day message on June 19 followed by Joanna Simpson, home for the summer after her first year at college, on June 26. In July, Rev. Kathy Trevino, the former minister at San Benito, will lead us in worship and communion on July 3 while Juan Loya, the Chaplin at Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, returns to our pulpit on July 10. Another member of our congregation has expressed a willingness to deliver the sermon on the 17th while I hope to preach again on the 24th. Finally, if an interim is not in the dugout by the end of July, Dwight West has agreed to return to the pitcher’s mound on the 31st. Are we a blessed church or what? Most certainly, we are an extremely blessed church. In fact, I can’t imagine how God doesn’t get a twinkle in his eye every time someone from our congregation grabs a bat, plants his feet and takes a swipe. After all it was his son who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Saying it is one thing. Doing so is what our church is all about. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
 “Thank You” (June 1, 2005) For the past four years I did the work I love with the people I love. Anyone who knows me well knows that I can lack a certain patience, can moan and groan, complain and kvetch with the best of them, but despite my occasional impatience and whining, I know how blessed my life has been, especially for the last four years. Many people don’t live one day doing work that is rewarding, engaging, and redemptive. In my life, there have been a few days only when at least one of those qualities has been absent. I wish I could tell you about all the joy that I’ve known in my ministry with you, but I know that would more than fill this newsletter. I ask only that you trust how much I have loved the ministry I have shared with you and how deeply I will miss you. Over the past few weeks, you have written and said some wonderful things to me. You have made clear how much you have appreciated my ministry with you and your words will be a great source of immeasurable strength as we begin our life in Cincinnati. But as I believe St. Paul would confirm, “It’s not about me.” It’s about Christ who calls you together into a community of diverse and sometimes divided believers who simply cannot be the church without each other. Archbishop Desmond Tutu echoes Paul when he says, “In Africa when you ask someone ‘How are you?’ the reply you get is in the plural even when you are speaking to one person. A man would say, ‘We are well.’ He himself may be quite well, but his grandmother is not well and so he is not well either. Our humanity we know is caught up in one another’s….In Africa recognition of our interdependence is call ubuntu in Nguni languages….It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and inextricably bound up in yours.” (Tutu, A Vision of Hope for Our Time, pp. 25-26). Over the past four years, we have faced some storms at our church. Despite the storms that have blown in our boat, I have been proud to see this congregation insist on living in God’s expansive grace as you sought to be faithful to our calling as servants of Christ. So, I leave celebrating God’s grace and unifying peace. Never tire in giving thanks to God for the gift of this church, for the gift of each other, for the gift of God’s unifying peace. You need each other even when you think you don’t and God needs you to know that you need each other. Never succumb to the temptation to play it safe, to avoid tough and controversial issues, to keep waters calm within the church—as if you could. There are those in this city who need your proclamation of grace and peace and unity. After all, we do not follow a Lord who stayed put in Bethany, but who climbed a cross in Jerusalem. Finally, know that while one chapter in the book of FPC ends this month, there are many chapters left to be written and our God never gets “writer’s block.” So, keep faithful, friends. The ministry of FPC is a ministry in which I have shared for four years and now, the one God will call to follow me will carry you forward. Keep yearning for and working for God’s unifying peace, keep living in God’s expansive grace, because I can’t wait to read the rest of the book! God bless you all and Thank You!
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