Today is Consecration Sunday at the Doniphan Church. Our Stewardship Campaign concludes with a special guest preacher; my wife, Rev. Cindy Karges, Senior Pastor of Hastings Grace & Junieta UMCs. We’ll also celebrate our church’s ministry at the Harvest Dinner at noon. Today at Doniphan, we’ll begin to give folks an opportunity to fill out commitment cards, stating our financial commitment to our church’s ministry in 2012.
Cindy has served United Methodist churches in Nebraska and South Carolina. She has been pastor at North Bend, Morse Bluff and Hooper, NE; Trinity UMC, in Charleston, SC and Barada UMC just north of Charleston in a national forrest. Then, she came back to Nebraska at Ainsworth and Johnstown UMCs, Seward and Beaver Crossing UMCs; Faith UMC in Lincoln and Centenary UMC in Beatrice, NE.
The emphasis of this year’s campaign is that our giving deepens our relationship with God. When we give of our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness, we are doing so because we’ve felt touched by God and want to reciprocate. God has transformed us, healed us, or let us know we’re not alone and brought us through a time of regret, repentance and forgiveness.
As in all friendships, God has made a move toward us, and we want to make a move toward God. So we give ourselves to God; to the work of God; to things we think will make God happy. And we give back as a sign of our seriousness about the relationship, out of our need to grow into a deeper relationship.
I’ve not met anyone yet who knows the limits of a relationship with God. Like a great friendship, the more you get into it, the deeper you want to go. And the relationship changes you. Over time you become more Godlike; bearing fruits of the spirit (love, joy, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and self-control). It is a growth process that never stops.
Today, we celebrate what we do in response to the love of God; our giving. Today, we stand together to say that we want to grow closer to God. And I believe that God has let us know that the way we do that is by giving ourselves away in service to each other, and, in serving the least and lost of our world.
Grace & Peace,
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