Paul writes: “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” I Corinthians 1:2-3
It is an exciting time to be the church. We are about to embark on a building project that will give us new opportunities to share the good news of Jesus, and to build up the community of faith. We continue to be blessed by the ongoing ministries of Sunday School, Confirmation, Circles, Choirs, Agape pre-school, and so many others. Yet Paul reminds us that we are always called to be saints “together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
So, at the same time we look to investing in our ministry here on Main Street of Mt. Horeb, we also remember that we are part of God’s church which extends to all the earth. In recognition of this I have accepted Pastor Bill White’s invitation to accompany a group of area pastors to Puerto Rico in February. For about 20 years Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison has had a partnership with a Lutheran congregation in Puerto Rico, seeking to learn from each other about ministry in both locations, and sharing gifts of support and service.
Now, in his retirement, Pastor White is inviting other pastors and congregations to consider such partnership with other churches, seeing this as an opportunity to serve and learn together. Our congregation has a great tradition of supporting a number of ministries both nearby and around the world for many years, and this could be another opportunity to extend our outreach for Christ.
Our group will be travelling from February 9-14th. I’d appreciate your prayers for safe travel and I’ll be anxious to share what I’ve learned after making this trip.
