Call to Devotions

One of the most satisfying experiences is taking a small, seemingly powerless seed, planting it in an environment that is conducive to growth, and enjoying the bounty of the harvest. We need to think about our walks of faith less like an Amazon purchase and more like tending the garden. There’s no “one-click ordering” for faith. We don’t accept Jesus’ invitation and immediately are ready to go. In fact, we spend our entire lives learning, making mistakes, growing, and changing in an attempt to be closer to God through Jesus Christ. The church is no different. We are on a journey of faith as well, but instead of a personal walk with God, it’s our communal walk. The process applies to us as a church as well. We must plant the seeds for the future of the church, nurture the seeds for growth, and then reap the bounty of harvest for the transformation of the world.

As we prepare our ministry goals and objectives for next year, including responsible stewardship and budgeting, we are going to spend three weeks digging into what it means to grow closer to God as a church. In our 2023 stewardship campaign, “Growing in Christ: Cultivating the Garden of God’s Grace,” you are invited to explore all the ways that you can be a part of making Grace UMC a place of abundant harvest. We will share in a sermon series, a spiritual gifts inventory, an all-church clean-up day, and on Sunday, November 20th, we will spend time prayerfully making estimates of giving for the coming year.

As we move through this campaign, you have an opportunity to receive daily email devotions that will begin on Saturday, November 5th. These devotions connect our souls, minds, and hearts to the idea of Growing In Christ. You can sign up for these devotions on the landing page for this year's stewardship campaign.

I hope that you will “dig in” to this time of growth. This is about more than asking for your money, it’s about connecting us as a congregation with a shared mission and vision of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Put on your best work clothes, grab your gloves and garden tools, and get ready to do the hard work of cultivating the rich abundance of God’s grace.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Seth+