Serving the Lord with Gladness
As Deacons at Christ Church, one of the many delights we experience are our interactions and conversations with people inside and outside our congregation. From week to week, we are provided many opportunities to hear stories of how folks among us are running the race set before them and keeping the faith - even when it is seemingly overwhelming and perhaps paralyzing. The context of these places and situations makes much of our work unseen and unknown to many of those in the congregation. Other times, it is the smile and good morning of a Sunday morning as you walk into the sanctuary for worship. All of these conversations invigorate us as a group, as we seek to run our own race and keep the faith in our service to the church.
Practically speaking, our roles as deacons are focused around ministering to those in need, developing the grace and liberality of the church, and caring for the property of the congregation. In recent years, as our Diaconate has grown, we have benefited from being able to engage more needs, support our Facilities team better, help evaluate and think long-term about needs in front of us, and help with more financial hardship than we historically have done. However, our work does not happen in a silo of 13 guys in a room, engaged in committee work. Our service is empowered by you, the congregation: in your prayers of support for various situations and for your fellow congregants, and through your financial support of our Deacon’s Fund. So when we encounter people fighting the good fight and keeping the faith amidst hardship (in many cases, with heavy hearts), we do so with great delight because of your support and ultimately the Lord’s sustaining grace.
We thank you for your support, trust, and encouragement – now we’d like to take a moment and encourage you! How can you become engaged in acts of service and be a part of our work in serving the congregation? Let us give you a few practical ways! First, handing out bulletins and ushering on Sunday mornings with a bright smile contributes to a welcoming worship experience, especially for those who may feel a bit of stress in finding a seat or meeting people. Second, volunteering at Spring or Fall cleanup days allows you to partner with us in taking care of the wonderful creation that surrounds our building. Third, giving above and beyond your normal giving helps to grow the Deacons Fund, which enables us to meet many and varied financial needs. These needs are both internal among the congregation, and externally through our Community Care team, which works diligently to serve those in need in our local community. Finally, and most of all, being in prayer for us as a group as we seek God’s wisdom in our calling to bring comfort to those in hardship, serve the church with mercy and grace, and run the race alongside you as your Deacons.