Let’s Celebrate What He’s Done

Dear Friends,

This past Monday, both the Board of Deacons and the Session gathered together… because there was no room for us at the inn…

Just kidding.  We gathered together because of that odd calendar timing where the 4th Monday of the month for a regular Session meeting, just doesn’t work (Memorial Day), so we pushed back, landing on the regular Deacon Meeting date.  And then we realized – “maybe we should gather together for a few minutes.”  And it was a rousing success!

We went around the room (filled with 30 leaders) and asked:
1) What’s a Highlight from the past year?
2) What’s a Hope for the coming year?
3) Where do you/we need Help right now?

Wow!

Some of the highlights that were shared were personal – making a new friend, a successful surgery, working less, having kids and watching them grow up. Some highlights were about our church – our renovations, our celebrations, serving with a ministry team, our ministries to children and youth.  A few of them stuck out to me.

First, it was the impact of watching children and youth, through VBS, Confirmation, Graduation and Leading Worship, impact family, friends and the wider church.  These leaders got emotional when they shared.

Second, it was assisting at a Holy Week Communion service we offered at the Canon House and High Rise apartments.  They’d never done it before, and we only served a dozen or so residents, but God was obviously present to this leader, and they were moved more than I had imagined in the moment.

Third, the Easter Luncheon – where we went from having to turn people away in 2024, to giving food away to local ministries because we had leftovers in 2025 – and we had more people in worship in 2025 than we’d had the year before!  It was such a beautiful image of living out our mission.

My final words to them, was a request for their help in basically doing exactly what we just did – telling our story and celebrating it together.  Because I’m often so focused on what’s next, I forget to celebrate what’s been done.  It’s a blessing and a curse.  We need to remember important moments on our journey and celebrate them.  We need to let other people know the impact they’ve had on our lives, the way God is at work in us, and how grateful we are.  If we miss those opportunities, if we fail to celebrate, we threaten to suck the life out of our shared life together.

It’s why I’m asking you, not only to take up the Summer 3 Meal Challenge (Alone with Jesus, With a Friend, Extending to an Old or New Friend) – but also to talk about it.  How did it go?  How did you feel?  How was God at work as you were together?  When you celebrate these moments, and share them with others, you expand their impact in ways you might never have imagined beforehand.

We spent about 37 minutes together on Monday night, the Board of Deacons and Board of Elders (Session) – and we all walked away saying “we need to do this every year.”  It was by far, the most profitable 37 minutes of our 2 hour Session meeting!

So, this Summer, let’s remember to celebrate and share together.  Especially, hold my feet to the fire when I will naturally get fixated with tomorrow or next week or next month – remind me, and us to celebrate what God just did, and what God’s doing right now.  It will really help us to grow in the image of Jesus!

Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus – one summer celebration at a time,

Pastor Don