Greetings, Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
Christ calls us to take up our cross and follow Him. This is not always easy to do. Sometimes He asks us to follow Him down unknown paths or into uncomfortable situations. The challenge in our faith is to trust Him enough to follow, no matter what. To follow Christ into ministry was a scary and difficult decision for me, but mission trips have always been an easy decision to follow. Christ has led me around the world in His name and my life has been changed for the better from each experience.
As you receive this El Portal, I am in San Francisco with our young people, following Christ into the world. We are feeding the homeless, working in food pantries and community gardens while learning about the poverty situation that so many of God’s people face each day. It is humbling to know that I live in such privilege to have a stable roof over my head and food in my belly when so many do not, but it is empowering to know that with Christ’s help I can use the gifts, talents and time that I have to help others, even just for one meal. Please pray for our young people as they journey with Christ this week. Pray that the Holy Spirit can open their hearts to see their calling as Christians to serve in His name and with His guidance.
If you are interested in going on a mission trip, even a single day trip or a weekend, please let me know, as I would love to lead an adult trip to change the world one person at a time.
In other news, please mark your calendar as we prepare to kick off a new church year the weekend of September 11. Friday, September 9 we will have an all-church inspirational night with dinner, worship, small group time, activities and more. The fun will begin at 6:00pm with dinner in the social hall and our time will wrap up around 9:00. Then, on Sunday, September 11 we will have our Rally Sunday with the return of the Chancel Choir in worship and a celebration of the new ministry year (there might even be some fun treats after worship).
Blessings, Pastor Stacy