11/19/2022

11/19/2022

Dear Friends in Christ,

This Sunday is the last Sunday after Pentecost, when we celebrate Christ the King, or as it has become known more recently, The Reign of Christ. The following Sunday, November 27th, we enter into the Season of Advent and begin another church year. This means that this Sunday is not only the end of the “long, green season,” it is the last Sunday in the Church year.

In our world it is common practice to make New Year resolutions, which usually center around self-improvement or individual goals. They are independent and personal in nature, and focus almost exclusively on our selves. As we approach the end of the Church year, I have been wondering what such resolutions might look like for the mission and ministry of Saint Anna’s. Unlike New Year resolutions, they would not be about individual or personal improvement or preferences, but on the good of the community and what God is calling us to do. This is reflected best in the life of Jesus, and nowhere is it more apparent than on Christ the King Sunday, when Jesus, with all the power of God at his fingertips, chooses to sacrifice himself to demonstrate that love is the strength and power of God, as opposed to the superficiality of what the world understands as power and authority.

While we are hopefully not expected to give up our lives, we are called to make sacrifices for God’s Kingdom. We have just completed our stewardship appeal which provides the resources we need to continue the work God has given us to do. Many of you have already pledged to give generously of your time, talent, and treasure, and I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. If you would like to make a pledge, there is still time.

As we end one year in the Church, and begin another, I invite you to join us in Church this Sunday, to celebrate Christ our King, to commit to a Holy Advent, and join me in reflecting on what resolutions we need to make, both individually and as a faith community, to carry out the mission and ministry God is calling Saint Anna’s to in our world.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Jane