Dear Friends in Christ –

Happy Epiphany! An epiphany is a revelation or manifestation of the Divine. Today, God’s revelation of Christ as the King, Priest, and Savior of the world! Yesterday, Pastor Culynn announced the kickoff of 2020 Vision – a multi-faceted, long-range planning initiative for our congregation. There will be several updates throughout the year, but for now, I want to highlight three aspects:

The Word:  God’s Word is central to everything we do as a congregation. It is the theme of every worship, the guide for every decision, the good news for us and for those we meet. We are encouraging everyone to begin a new practice of hearing/reading God’s Word. There are devotionals available, God’s Story & Our Story Reading bookmarks. There are also two special reading schedules available as well:

1) Through the Bible in One Year

2) Fifty-Two Scriptures You Should Know.

Prayer: Everyone was encouraged to spend this week in prayer for our church.
— On Tuesday, we confess our sins and shortcomings as a community of faith.
— On Wednesday, we offer our petitions and intercessions on behalf of our congregational members, friends, and guests who are in need of God’s grace and healing.
— On Thursday, we pray for vision and discernment. We ask God’s Spirit to guide us as individuals and as a congregation to the future he has prepared for us.

Long-Range Planning Committee: The church council has asked several members to serve on the long-range planning committee. While the response has been small, they will be a diligent team for which we are very grateful. A big thank you to Ron Elam, Connie Klemz, Nathan Miller, and Jean Wagner for serving in this capacity. You will be hearing from them in the near future.

It’s a big update as we begin the New Year! But what wonderful work and ministry is set before us. Thanks for being a part of it all!

Pastor Culynn