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Pastor's Meditation

Pastor Marilyn Allen

Voyage of Renewal

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor…to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18a, 19

Happy New Year! In the church calendar, we are already in the new year, which begins with the first Sunday of Advent – November 29 this year. During 2010 we will hear the story of Jesus mostly through the words of Luke. In addition to the Christmas stories, we learn from Luke the stories of the prodigal son and the Good Samaritan and Zacchaeus. Peter catches a lot of fish before Jesus calls him to follow. The disciples aren’t quite as clueless in Luke’s version as they are in Mark’s, and maybe we’ll learn something from them.

Happy New Year! We aren’t far from the beginning of a new calendar year. It seems so recently that we celebrated the turn of the century, and now we’re almost into 2010. We don’t know, of course, what the new year will hold. It’s likely there will be some kind of odd weather – snow and ice, too much rain or too little, record heat or record cold. It’s likely that the stock market will go both up and down. Old friends may leave and new friends will come. The church will continue to be a place of inspiration and fellowship, as well as a place of occasional frustration and concern. This year, as always, we’ll need many hands reaching out in welcome and service, and many generous offerings, and many gifts of imagination and love.

Happy New Year! I pray that this will be a good new year for you. May you have a new experience of God’s grace. May you find new ways to share your faith. May we all receive new strength to do the work of Christ together, knowing that we are in God’s care – individually and as a congregation. May God bless you in this new year.

Pastor Marilyn Allen

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