From the Pastor’s Pen
“For The Faithful of the Congregation”
Dear Fellow Redeemed, of the Family Called Resurrection Church & School,
Too much of my time is often directed to the weak of faith and the unfaithful. I want to reverse that order here. This article is not addressed to those who have to be begged or patted or pampered before they will attend worship or Bible study or be involved in any of Resurrection’s outreach or service projects. This is not for those who only give to the church their excuses, and grumble the most while doing the least. These words are for the faithful and dedicated of God’s flock:
Our vocabulary is just not large enough to tell all of you wonderful Christians how much you are appreciated! It matters not how many meetings will be called, I know that you will be present. The weather – nor any amount of company – are able to cause you to treat lightly your responsibilities. You have no more time than others, but somehow you manage to find time to serve both your Savior and others. I appreciate you even more because you demand no special attention or praise for your service – and you do not consider being “regular” or “faithful” to God a grievous burden or a feat of great valor. You all are indeed an example to our younger members and an inspiration to all of us! Thank you for your commitment of faith to your Lord and to His Church – and may God continue to bless your inspired efforts. In fact, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all those who, through their gifts of time, talents and treasures, have enabled Resurrection to carry out the many ministries and programs that we have accomplished for our Lord in this place …
* To all who made our Advent preparation and Christmas celebration so meaningful: those who decorated, baked, prepared food, cleaned up, led our music, shared anthems and solos, performed on their instruments, shared the Christmas story – especially our Sunday School and Confirmation youth!; to those who directed and helped with the Sunday School Christmas Service, wrote services, typed services, printed services, collated and stapled services, etc. – the list goes on and on and on and on … THANK YOU ALL!
* To our Child Development Center and School Director, Ann Ezell, and a wonderful Staff: Denise Ambrose, Carol Baugham, Marsha Snyder, Charlotte, Helms, Debra Waldmiller, Kim Kozenski, Susan Deck, Sandra Steuck, Ruth Cooper, Enid Jackson and Robin Snyder, who have made our school and child-care ministry so successful, and who continue to bless our children with their faith and example! THANK YOU ALL!
* To our Organist: Rich Peltz, who is also the Director of our Sanctuary Choir and the accompanist, and, of course, the many members of the Sanctuary Choir, the Songs of Praise Worship Team, Sunday School Singers and their faithful Director and accompanist: Elizabeth Palmore – for their beautiful musical offerings not just at Christmas but throughout the year! THANK YOU ALL!
* To the members of the Altar Guild, the Usher Staff, the Worship Assistants (Lay Readers), the Acolytes, those who share Children’s Sermons, the Audio/Video Ministry Teams, the Greeters, the Fellowship Hosts, those who provide transportation to fellow saints to our services, the Counters, the Tape Hosts (delivery people taking DVD’S of our services to our shut-in members), the Communion Assistants, the Nursery Assistants, those who gave flowers for the Altar, the Friday Saints – did I leave anyone out?? – who serve faithfully and joyfully week after week throughout the year! THANK YOU ALL!
* To our new staff persons in the Church Nursery, Nyema Dorsey and Ingrid Sassi, who have made quite an impact with our younger saints on Sunday mornings! Thank you!
* To our outstanding Sunday School Superintendent: Debbie Altman, and the Teachers and Staff of our Sunday School Ministry; our Adult Bible Study Coordinator: Thom Rake, and the Class Leaders, Confirmation Assisting Teachers, Communion Preparation Class Leaders; and our Vacation Bible School Director: Pam Hammond and her faithful and dedicated staff, who prepare weekly lessons throughout the year to enrich the lives of those who attend these classes! And to those who lead our Small Groups, and to the dedicated members who are part of this ministry of growth in God’s Word, fellowship and accountability: THANK YOU ALL!
* To the Leaders and helpers involved in our Youth Programs: the Sr. L.Y.F.R. and the Jr. L.Y.F.R., who provide nurture, leadership and assist our youth with their many activities during the year! THANK YOU ALL!
* To those who cut the grass, weeded and trimmed the bushes and kept up the Bluhm Memorial and the Memorial Azalea Gardens, planted new bushes and flowers, spread mulch, raked leaves, picked up tree branches, etc. – THANK YOU ALL!
* To those who mended, cleaned, painted, built, plumbed, wired, moved furniture out and in, and remodeled the church bathrooms and the Church Nursery and did what was needed to be done to keep our facilities up and operating: WE ARE MOST GRATEFUL TO GOD FOR YOU ALL – THANK YOU!
* To our Porch Visitors and their ministry of reaching out to our church guests; to those who offer prayers to God as part of our Prayer Ministry; to those who prepared and shared meals for the sick, lonely, and mourning through our Helping Hands Ministry and the Funeral Committee; to those who visit, send cards, and phone our Shut-In and Homebound Ill members; all of you make a difference in the lives of people – THANK YOU!
* To ALL who volunteered for the People Offering Resources Together (PORT) Ministry that reaches out to the hungry and homeless of our community – to all who set up, worked the in-take tables; who cooked, baked, served and cleaned up; to all who volunteered to perform numerous tasks; to those who spent all night with our homeless guests – THANK YOU SO MUCH!
* To those who write articles for our Weekly email newsletter, and those who edit it! THANK YOU ALL!
* To our Church Officers and Board Chairs, and the members of our Boards and committees, who strive to lead us into mission and ministry as we seek to share God’s love with each other and our community – for their faithful and dedicated service: THANK YOU ALL!
* To the dedicated members who stay and clean up the Communion ware after worship, who turn off the lights, check the building, and lock the doors. THANK YOU ALL!
* To a wonderful, dedicated and hard working (and often unappreciated!) Church & School Office Staff: Pastor Ben Dolby, Mrs. Ann Ezell, Mr. Richard Peltz, Ms. Ann Wahlstrom, Mrs. Enid Jackson. You give freely of your time and talents, often working unpaid overtime to get items ready for the congregation! Truly all of you are God’s gift to our parish and to God’s Kingdom – THANK YOU!
Thank you all so much! Please know that your contributions do not go unnoticed. All of You are gifts of our Gracious God, and are very much appre-ciated! I thank God for all of you! And thank you for sharing the love of God with our community and with me!
Pastor Hank Hollar
