Ministry outside the lines

On Saturday we hosted a memorial service for Nancy Vardar. She was delightful lady who loved life and enjoyed her family. She died rather suddenly a week and a half ago and her family was stunned. At the service we celebrated her life and her son, grand-daughter and a family friend shared some stories about her passion for life.

In any given year we minister to several families in the community that are touched by death. This family came to us because they have friends in the congregation. When they suffered this loss, they turned to their friends for advice and consolation and that led them to us.

I think sometimes we think of our ministry as being exclusive. The church belongs to us. We want our children to be taken care of. We want the sermons to speak to us. We want to have a place to have our baby showers and someone to marry our kids. The truth is that our church stands out in the community as a place where people can come to meet God. Strangers are always welcome and we minister to them in ways that can't be measured over a long period of time. We may never even see some of them again. But God does. He meets them as they sit in our pews and hears their prayers. He comforts them and sometimes it changes their lives.

Today we celebrated with and honored our 50 year members. We know the effect that our ministry has had on their lives. Doris Adams and Marge Booth, Edith Robinson and Bruce Royce, George Strouse and June Pendleton all have been active in our ministry. Lois Lopez, Jean Roscoe, Doris Regets and Jean Smith have lived life with a keen appreciation for the ministry that blessed their families. They are the pillars that have made ministry possible at FBC for the last fifty years. They join others who have given us a heritage of faithfulness that allow us to be a gateway to God's grace.

I'll have some pictures from our recognition service tomorrow.

Cal