GRACE

GRATITUDE – I give thanks to God for the privilege of serving as your pastor.  In these ten years we have witnessed parents bringing a total of nine children for dedication to God.  The pastor has been privileged to baptize eleven people on their profession of faith in Christ.  We have welcomed a total of 22 new members to our congregation.  The pastor has conducted or participated in a total of 40 memorial services and has served as celebrant at five weddings.  We rejoice and give thanks for God’s work in our midst.                                                    

RELATIONSHIPS – We continue to build loving relationships within our church family.  We are learning to labor together in love as we carry out God’s work.  We give thanks for each one who shares gifts and talents in our shared ministry at Tabernacle Baptist Church.  We also seek to maintain relationships with those who are unable to be with us in person through notes, prayer cards, and care baskets.  Sunday and Tuesday morning Bible study groups nurture the spiritual and personal growth of the participants.  Some, including the pastor, are nurtured through fellowship and support groups beyond the doors of the church.  Some reach out to others through friendship evangelism.  Through relationships we continue to nurture and share our faith.

ACTIVITIES – Regular activities for the pastor include the preparation for and conducting of worship.  I am thankful for all those who so willingly share through their participation in worship.  A special focus of the pastor is with the aging members of our congregation.  The pastor also enjoys the opportunities to share in “table fellowship” with a number of church families.

COMMUNICATIONS – A monthly calendar is prepared and distributed to the congregation.  Attempts are made to update the church web site - tabernaclebaptistchurchoffiskeville.org - on a monthly basis.  Prayer concerns are shared through our PrayerNET – an email communication to those who can be reached in this manner. The Deacons also maintain a prayer tree.   Personal notes and emails are frequently sent to members of the church family.  The development of a Policy on Pastoral Counseling helps to establish appropriate boundaries within pastoral care.

EXPECTANCY – Together, we expect great things from God.  Together, we can do great things for God.  It is with this expectancy that I look forward to continued ministry in your midst.  It is my prayer that God’s work will be manifest in me.  We labor together in HOPE confident that there is no limit to where God can take us.  Let us realize anew the lived experience of God in the multiple contexts of life where God finds us.  That is spirituality.  That is the business of the church of Jesus Christ.  Let us continue to minister and grow together through God’s graces to us.

Joyously,

Joyce B. Duerr, Pastor