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Tuesday, 31 January 2006 |
This past weekend deacons, elders, the clerk,
and myself gathered for our annual leadership retreat at the 4-H
Retreat Center in Columbiana. We had a wonderful time of retreat,
study, and preparation for an exciting year here at 1st Presbyterian.
The servant leaders of this church are a gifted, humble group with
which to work. I am privileged to serve with them. Everyone of them has
a deep love and an abiding desire for the increase of witness and work
here in Alabaster.
We want you to go ahead and set aside the
first weekend of November, November 4th and 5th, for what we hope will
become an annual event. That weekend the church will be participating
in a church wide, family retreat at the Columbiana facility. We have
blocked off all of the rooms in the retreat motel as well as reserved
the recreation facility and the pavilion for our use. This will be a
fun time of play, fellowship, study, solitude, and worship. Please go
ahead and mark your calendars and make your family’s attendance a
priority!
Much discussion was entertained concerning the
Debt Reduction Campaign that is presently underway. The cottage
meetings are off to a solid start and the enthusiasm that is being
generated through those conversations in church members’ homes is fun
to watch. The Task Force reported to the session, that while the
primary focus at the beginning was on debt retirement, the
conversations at the cottage meetings have brought into focus the
biggest positive result of the campaign is going to be a rediscovery of
our identity and unity as a body of believers. The Task Force and the
session are delighted that this is the case.
During the session meeting at the retreat the
session deepened their commitment to the ministry of helping others by
revolving money from a long dormant account into the Pastor’s
Discretionary Fund. This action will make it possible to continue to
help those who are not able to help themselves. I have told you before,
but it bears repeating, this church helps people you never know about
on an almost daily basis. Your continued support of the Pastor’s
Discretionary Fund will continue to make this service possible.
It was a blessed weekend and the leadership of
the church is excited about serving you and this community in the year
2006. We believe God’s hand is upon us and that this body of believers
is responding faithfully to the places and the people that God is
calling us to go and to serve. Personally, I’ve never been more excited
about a church, her calling, and her work. 2006 will be a wonderful
year!
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