“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 2:4-5
Dear friends,
When I was a child, I remember the Sunday morning offering being called the “collection.” I don’t know when or why we’ve shifted to calling it something else these days, but I do think that “collection” is a good term, It captures not only the coins, bills and offering envelops we collect in our offering plates, but it describes all of us. We’re a “collection” of people, a group gathered as the congregation of Edwards Church, each of us different and each of us coming for their own reasons.
These days, our “collection” during worship uses baskets and buckets, gathered by the children and brought to the communion table or poured into the penny jar. It’s a wonderful way to include them and teach the youngest among us about giving,
But let’s not forget that we teach them in many other ways as well. There’s a collection of ways that we give of ourselves to our community, to the church, and to one another, We donate our time to the church by serving on teams and in our four new ministry settings. Some of us help to care for our campus by rolling up our sleeves to maintain the buildings and grounds. Others join in making beautiful music together, as evidenced at our amazing revival service. Some of us help with the children, host coffee hour, or reach out to care for others. We bring gifts of creativity, organization, thoughtfulness, patience, courage and compassion. Truly, the ways we give of our selves are limited only by our imaginations!
Yes, we are quite a “collection!” But, together, we can make the Church and its ministry a powerful presence and a place where people can experience the peace, healing and inspiration of Christ in our midst. Come join us in the year ahead by adding yourself to the rich blend of blessings that is Edwards Church, United Church of Christ, in Framingham!
Blessings for November, Karen Nell