Minister's Corner

From what I understand, the people of Italy have a wonderful custom they practice to celebrate and mark the end of the year. As midnight on New Year's Eve approaches, teh streets are deserted. There is no traffic traveling the roads. There are no pedestrians on the street. Even the policemen clear out and take cover. Then, at the stroke of midnight, the windows of the houses fly open. To the sound of laughter, music, and fireworks, each member of the family pitches out the old crockery and dishes, broken and disliked ornaments, worn and hated furniture, and a whole gamut of personal possessions that remind them of something in the past year they are determined to forget and wipe out of their minds.

I tend to think this is a rather good idea. God knows that as a church we have plenty that we likely would want to forget altogether. If I remember correctly, our sanctuary building burned in April of 2008. How many of us would like to erase that event from our minds and from our lives?

As we close out the year of 2008 and welcome the new year of 2009, we can wipe away the past. The year is completed! Over! Finished! Another fresh new year lies ahead. Whatever was bad is done, gone, and over. Whatever is good will stay to enrich us. Was Christ with us this past year? Of course he was with us! Can we expect his presence in the new year ahead? Certainly we can find comfort in his presence!

None of us can know what the New Year will bring. We certainly have challenges ahead of us as we continue to seek God's calling and vision for us as individuals and as a church. And we certainly have daunting tasks ahead of us as we work to rebuild our sanctuary. So we will most assuredly have pleasure and pain, satisfaction and disappointment, success and failure. How much of which, we cannot tell. Only God knows! Yet, we know that our Lord Jesus Christ will be with us every single day of the year, come what may.

Peace & Blessings,
Rev. Garry