Brothers and sisters,
It’s been a while since I’ve done a recap article here in the Illuminator. In the past, I’ve waited till the end of the year to write about some of the things we’ve done over the previous twelve months. We’re a little over halfway through the year, so this week, I want to remind you all of some of the things that we’ve done in the last few months.
One of our biggest projects was back in April. We participated once again in Operation Inasmuch, a week of service that seeks to live out Jesus’ observation in Matthew 25:40. We put together care packages for struggling people here in Durham. We made Thinking of You bags for members in our church who can’t come as often as they’d like. We cleaned up around our church, making the space more hospitable to everyone who comes through.
One of the projects for Operation Inasmuch was a planned trip to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC. The original volunteer day had to be rescheduled, but we still had folks go and sort food for the disadvantaged in our area. In fact, that project was so popular we have another group going in just a few days!
In May we hosted Jordan High School students as they took their AP tests, providing them a safe, quiet, consistent space to take these tests. All the teachers involved spoke highly to me about our facilities and about the church members they interacted with. It was a great way to be a good neighbor!
In June, we took a church trip to the North Carolina Museum of Art to take in the gifts and talents given to artists by God and to ask ourselves questions about our faith. And, of course, we also started our Super Saturday Adventures for the summer, providing the children in our community with a place to come and learn and fellowship with other people. They’ve learned about God’s love for them in Creation. They’ve learned about God’s love for them in difficult times. And they will continue to learn about God’s love on the 26th of this month!
We’ve done a lot over the last few months and there is even more to do in the coming months! God makes a lot of promises to us in the scriptures. One of them is that, as servants, we have a lot of work to do! But the other wonderful promise God makes is that work will be good, fulfilling, life-giving work. Let us continue to serve our God, draw closer to each other, and be a light for our neighbors!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben