Ministers Desk 9th December 2012

As the year winds down most of our groups and activities are coming to an end for this year.  We’ve had some great things happen this year.  Some of them have been big and have involved the whole congregation.  Others have been limited to a few people participating in a group.  Take a moment and think of some of the highlights for you this year.  For me it includes the Solomon Islands partnership and our trip, the Boys’ Brigade trip, the worship service and the abundant generosity to provide money for bibles.  I’ve also appreciated the way that the Church Council and Elders have developed as teams and the discussions and decisions we have made.  I also appreciate my Explore Group and the depth of intimacy and growth that we experience together.

 

As a congregation we have done and achieved much this year.  This couldn’t have happened without the active involvement of many people in our congregation.  Leaders and helpers, servers and workers all add up together to allow our activities to take place.  This is the way that the church should be.  Christ’s vision for the church was that we would all take an active part, each contributing our gifts and skills and serving each other. 

 

Thank you for what you have done this year.  In whatever way you have served in this congregation, please know that you have helped make this a place where disciples can be grown and the message of Jesus Christ can be shared. 

 

Although most of us don’t serve with a sense of what we get out of it, there is something about the way we are built that values the appreciation of others.  We like to be thanked and we are encouraged to do more when we know that others appreciate what we have done.  So as the year comes to an end, I encourage each of you to overflow with thanks.  Take the time in the coming week to thank people for what they have done this year.  If you’re a member of a group, of the parent of a child in a group, thank the leaders of those groups.  If you’re a leader, thank the other leaders and the members for their contributions.  Notice the contributions that people make around the church and thank people for their willingness to turn up regularly and do little and big things.  Some jobs take place regularly and in plain sight, without acknowledgment. 

 

Our thanks can be shown in a small and deliberate conversation or written in a letter or card.  Thank the person for who they are not just for what they do.  Be sincere.  Don’t put others down when you’re doing it (eg “I like the way you do this, better than [insert name]”). 

 

As we affirm each other we will build our community and encourage each other onto more acts of service.