Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…
From the mailbag, yes that’s right, people still send cards and letters in the mail. This morning, after recycling the junk mail, I opened 18 envelopes. The mail came from TLC members and community members. Most of them included a gift to keep our ministry and outreach going. And there were sweets words: “thank you for encouraging us,” “your staff has helped us to focus on the positive,” “your message was just what I needed to hear,” “if you need to borrow some pants, I have some.” And this shout out to one of the many TLC caregivers who are seeing to the needs of our shut-in senior citizens, “I am overwhelmed by her support and encouragement. I feel like I am not carrying this burden alone.”
This is what the Kingdom of God is supposed to look like. We encourage you; you encourage us. You bring out the sunshine and the best in us and we reach out to pick you up when you are down. I also received thank you notes from numerous non-profits on Whidbey Island. They are doing God’s work with our neighbors. They are going places and helping people that we are not directly in a position to help. This, too, is how the Kingdom of God is supposed to look. Bad news makes the news; the behavior of rude people is of more interest than the consistent good works of a thousand ordinary people.
And then there was this letter, “My wife and I have truly appreciated your Sunday services. We get up early on Sunday morning, plug in the coffee pot, turn on the computer, and worship with you on these Sunday mornings. You have become our second church. So as a note of support for Trinity’s remarkable ministry the enclosed modest offering will provide a bit of support of the work you and Trinity are doing on South Whidbey—and worldwide.” This letter was sent from a town far away, the modest offering was $500. This, too, is how the Kingdom of God works.
We continue to reach people far and near. Our online services are serving God’s people in this season of pandemic. We long to be together again, we yearn to see each other’s faces and to share a holy hug. It is clear, though, that we will have to continue our online ministry that we might support and encourage those who cannot walk into the church “where everybody’s welcome.”
Thanks for doing your part, as together we are the church, and together we usher in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
One day closer,
Pastor Jim
