The following message from senior pastor, Dr. jim Standiford, is from the most recent Outlook newsletter.

"I Thank God for All of You"

When St. Paul begins his letter to the Romans he writes, “I thank God for all of you.” In his first letter to the Corinthians he writes, “I thank God for you.” He does the same for the Philippians and the Colossians. Paul loves his congregations, even those where leaders are disagreeing with him, or he senses the people have forgotten or abandoned the faith.

So, having been gone a month from your midst, let me begin by saying, “I give thanks to God for all of you.” Please know that I have been giving thanks for you for ten years now, but there is something to the statement, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” In other words, my vacation was good, but I missed you.

As we move with enthusiasm into the fall months we will be looking together at some of the foundational beliefs we share as followers of Christ, and what those beliefs mean for our living. I pray you will make every effort to be in worship with us every Sunday.

Along with your worship participation, I pray you will do two other things as well. First, plan on growing and deepening your faith by becoming involved in one of adult education classes this fall. Second, sign up to be a volunteer reader in one of our public schools. In other words, let your faith shape some of your time to reach out to the children of our community. Both of these activities will enrich your life and give you new meaning.

I give thanks to God for all of you,

Jim Standiford