We Are God's Hands

"And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these." Matt 6:28-29

I am no longer sure what is in fashion or not. I know that I like long skirts. In the summer they are cooler than slacks or jeans and in the winter I can wear boots and long underwear under them instead of panty hose and no one is the wiser. The problem the market is not inundated with long dresses so my closet doesn't have an abundance of them.

Fortunately, one of the perks of being a pastor is that I don't have to think too much about what I'm going to wear. Shirt, collar and a skirt or (sadly) slacks. Sometimes, I wear my pink or purple shirt with blue jeans; depending where I'm going or what I'm doing. An alb on Sundays covers up anything I might be wearing underneath. At the little church in Aura, without air conditioning, I have threatened to wear my swimsuit underneath in the summer. The temperatures raise even more once the pews are filled with God's children. No one would know. I leave the house in an alb and return in the alb. No, one knows what I'm wearing underneath anyway.

Society spends an awful lot of time and money on worrying about what we should wear when there are a whole lot more important and pressing things to worry about. There are hungry children and multitudes of cold children who don't have the option of deciding which jacket to wear because they have none at all. There are the sick and the persecuted and the dying who need tending to. There is enough to take care of in this world to have time or money to worry about what we will wear. God uses us to help clothe and otherwise care for those in need. We are His hands.

May He help us to understand that rather than worry about which sweatshirt we should wear, we should be busy being His hands to feed and clothe those who are truly in need.

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. Toys for Tots Benefit Concert at Zion this Sunday at 2 pm in support of the children of Baraga County. See you all there! 

Mark 9:30-37 - Children Abound!

He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:36-37 NIV)

How to welcome children in the community we call the "church" or "congregation" is often on my mind. This Sunday, I am hoping due to a return to below zero temperatures, attendance was very low at worship. There were thirty-nine in attendance. Nine were children of pre-school and/or elementary age; as well as four teen-agers. Fully one/third of our congregation, this Sunday, were young people. Most of the youth came with a parent or other close relative, so we had families worshipping together. It warms my heart to have the little children participating in worship and, yes, they do participate in worship. We welcome them as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We welcome all people. While it is good (awesome) to see their eager young faces, looking for love and fellowship; I wondered where the older brothers and sisters (adults) in Christ were to reciprocate. Our children look at the congregation as a family; a place where they are unconditionally loved. Where are all their older brothers and sisters in Christ when they could  be there to welcome the little children?

Our children need a safe and welcoming place. They need a place where they can all feel truly included. They need to get to know Jesus and the love and peace that He brings. Wherever you are, join in worship, welcoming all of God's children.

But, you have to be present in order to do that.

God's Peace - Pr. J

BTW... Having children make up 1/3 of the congregation is not a problem! It is a very good thing! It wasn't long ago, we were hoping just to have a few join us every now and then.