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 From
the
Pastor's Pen
?
July 2010
Greetings in the name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
On your
behalf, I received this email from Bishop Tom Barnett:
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Freetown and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Sierra Leone (ELCSL) in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Savior. I am safely back home and at work after my very memorable
visit with you all and members of your congregations in the
Panhandle. Please accept and kindly convey to members of your
respective congregations my sincere thanks and appreciation for the
warm and cordial reception accorded me during my recent visit with
you all. I remain most grateful for the opportunity to share about
our mission partnership and for the personal experience of your
sup-port and enthusiasm for our partnership. Your brothers and
sisters in Christ here join me in praying for our continued journey
together in service to God's needy people in Sierra Leone and
elsewhere. Grace and Peace in Jesus Christ,
Bp Tom
Gloria
Dei hosted Bishop Tom on April 29, with Shepherd King and the United
Lutheran Ministries in Slaton, Posey and Wilson also participating.
The 30 or so in attendance were blessed to hear Bp. Tom’s remarks on
the beginnings of the ELCSL amidst the challenges of the long civil
war in Sierra Leone. He shared many ways that the church has and
continues to reach out to war victims and orphans, and new ways they
are transforming lives through child care, work cooperatives, water
wells and worship. They have so much need, yet a gracious and
abundant God to help meet those needs. That evening, we purchased
$125 of hand made items made by the Women’s Cooperative of the
ELCSL, and shared $315 in the free will offering for the mission and
ministry of the ELCSL, all part of "God’s
work, our hands!"
Our congregational
treasurer, Laurie Freeman, has finalized details with Thrivent
Financial for Lutherans
Simply
Giving program. The
Simply
Giving program is a modern-day giving
program that is a convenient, safe, and
simple way for you to make automatic contributions to Gloria Dei
through electronic funds transfer (EFT) directly from your checking
or savings accounts. Watch for more specific details and enrollment
opportunities during July.
You are needed!
Yes, you! On July 31, we celebrate another opportunity to host
Vacation Bible School at Gloria Dei. Yes, you are correct, we don’t
have a lot of kids within the congregation, but we have an untold
potential of kids outside our congregation. This is a great way for
our congregation to share the good news of Jesus, and our 1-day
format will make it easier for you to say YES, I WILL HELP. See
additional information in this newsletter for the specific needs of
helpers and donors.
My brothers and
sisters, we have many ways to CELEBRATE the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, to BUILD a nurturing community of faith and service, and to
WITNESS that faith in our daily life. May we be faithful disciples
of our crucified and risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In His love,
VPastor
Craig
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