September 9, 2014

Our Global Women church picnic was practically perfect in every way.  Friends from Sri Lanka, Taiwan and China attended with their kids and parents.  The food was plentiful.  Grown ups played corn hole while kids chased chickens and collected eggs.  Huge thanks to Julia Bebeau, Heidi Daugherty, Joyce Cookman​, Sarah Haas ​and Lisa Williams for putting the evening together.  We are looking forward to another great year of making friends, having fun and practicing English.       

I ache to share the love of Jesus with people yet to discover it. At the same time I ache to do it respectfully and with integrity.  Never shadowing other intentions in the pretense of friendship or service but always to say what I’m doing and do what I am saying.  That is, to make real friends with people by sharing time and space, to learn each others' ​lives and receive as much as I give.  So no debts exist between us; debts of gratitude, agreement nor allegiance.      

Every level of our Global Women ministry is open to inspection.  We make plain why we do it - God has called us to serve the world and to welcome the strangers in our midst. At the same time our Tuesday program isn’t religious. We do not preach, pray or ask personal spiritual questions.  Friends are always welcome but never expected to attend worship or other church activities.  How lucky that what God calls us to do is also so easy and so much fun.  

I suspect it’s more Providential than lucky.  I expect what we love most and what we do best is providentially engineered toward the slice of God’s will to which we are called. In​ this case cooking, crafts, coffee, conversation, chickens, and picnics  take on holy purpose. At once genuine friendship and authentic ministry, happily together and separate from one another.

​All I know for sure is that Sunday afternoon was about the best picnic ever and made me really grateful for the work we’ve been given in this time and place. 

~ peace & prayers,
pastor annette

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