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Today is Ruth’s surgery. By the time you read this, her surgery should be complete, and we should be preparing to return home. Needless to say, she will not be in church on Sunday and it may be a few weeks until she can be back at Mechanic Grove. Since Ruth will be unable to drive for 4-6 weeks, I will be staying closer to home in order to assist with her care in the coming weeks.

This week, our first meeting of our Strategic Vision Task Force met as we began to process the information shared at the Cottage Meetings. I am pleased with the team that God has brought together, and we are prayerfully moving forward, asking even more questions, and seeking to discern the growth restrictive problems that Mechanic Grove Church of the Brethren needs to resolve in the coming years. As a reminder, you can read the summary of the Cottage Meetings in the Congregational Business Meeting packet. And yes, Wednesday at 7:00 pm is the spring Congregational Council Meeting so please read the reports and come prepared for the meeting.

Wednesday night was Roots night, and yes, they are coming to a close here in the month of May. Wednesday, May 20th is the last Roots night until October. My thanks to the many, many volunteers who make our Roots night a success from kitchen helpers preparing the meal, those who help with cleanup and the many teachers and helpers in the various youth and children’s ministries that make the ministry so successful. I shared on Sunday about spiritual gifts and Roots night is a great example of so many of you serving in your sweet spot—using your spiritual gifts to bless our church family. As 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” Thank you for your faithful service to the Lord.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and while our sermon is on Week 18 of Believe, we certainly want to remember our mothers. Just like children, Moms are special gifts of God. I know that Mother’s Day can be hard for those who have lost their mothers or those who perhaps have been unable to become mothers. But let us not lose sight of God’s command to honor our fathers and our mothers (Exodus 20:12). Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “People are what their mother’s make them.” So, to all our mothers, we say “Thank You. You are a special gift of God. May you be blessed this Mother’s Day and always!”

Yesterday was National Day of Prayer and I was able to be at the Quarryville Borough building at noon for the prayer event. During my devotions and prayer time this week, I found myself praying for families, church, government, schools and peace which are some of the prayer initiatives for the National Day of Prayer. In particular, my devotions for the week included Jeremiah’s prayer in Jeremiah 32:17-25 and Psalm 55 which begins “Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer” (vv.1-2a). In addition, on Monday evening this week, we were together via zoom to pray for one another and our needs in the church, our community, and the world. May we together be a people who prevail in prayer.

This Sunday, Janae will be sharing a summary of the D6 Conference participants. In addition, we will be sharing about “Offering our Time” as a practice for every believer. And, of course, we will acknowledge our mothers in our prayer time. Most importantly, we will be together to worship the Lord and celebrate our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus. 

The month of May brings proms, graduations, and thoughts of weddings, vacations, and reunions for many of us. The spring weather has many of us cutting the grass, planting flowers and gardens, and getting ready for the summer months. Ruth was frantically trying to get her flowers planted before her surgery. May we indeed offer our time first to God in these coming months as we enjoy the blessings that come with the spring and summer seasons.

Have a great weekend. Honor your mother and bless her this weekend. And come, be a part of our worshiping church family this Mother’s Day as we gather again to worship the Lord together. It is Friday…but Sunday’s coming!

Pastor Kevin