A Letter from the Pastor

Over the past couple of years, we have gone through the worst economic period in our country since the Great Depression.  We have all felt the strain in one way or another.  Some have lost retirement savings.  Others have lost jobs and the list could go on with the effects of the recession.  We have all watched as the federal government responded in various ways to the economic crisis.  Most of us have expressed at some point our opinions about the things that have been done in the name of helping.  One of the most common complaints I hear is that the federal government wastes too much money.

It's easy for us to sit back and rant about waste in the government and never consider our own involvement.  So for a few moments during this season of Lent, let's consider our involvement in the wastefulness.  At some level, the majority of Americans are guilty because the majority elected the officials that squandered the nation's wealth.  However, don't just think about it in terms of the national level...let's make it personal.

Ouch! I can already tell I don't like where this is headed.  Taking a hard look at my own stewardship of resources can often let me know that I can do better with some area of my life.  Sometimes I'm wasting too much time, too many resources, or too much money on things.  I've found that there is always more that I can do to cut back on waste in my life.  As Christians, we are accountable for how we spend these resources.  Doing this periodically has helped my see things that I needed to give up permanently and not just for forty days.

We as a church can be a little more careful with our resources.  We have recently been discussing some much needed repairs on the buildings and church property.  These discussions have inevitably led us to the question, "How are we going to pay for that?"  I'm not particularly worried about how.  All the resources are God's.  He will move the right resources through the right people at the right time.  It really isn't much more complicated than that.

I tend to be more concerned with what we are doing with the resources that God has already given us.  Within different committees and groups, we have started questioning our spending and our habits.  There are several areas that we can do a better job in and everyone can help out.  First of all, keep your calendar from the newsletter and put church meetings on your personal calendar.  We used to spend over $500.00 a year on reminder cards for meetings.  We will not be sending monthly reminder cards in the future.

We can save energy in a couple of ways as well.  If your group is using a building or the fellowship hall for a meeting make sure you turn off the thermostat and all of the lights before you leave.  These two things alone can save a lot of money and natural resources that we don't have to waste.  I am looking at and talking about these things for several reasons; however, we should as God's stewards of creation, be the best stewards possible.

Grace and Peace

Rev. Jimmy Cook               4/1/2011