Dear People of Hope,
As I reflected on what might be our congregation’s theme for the new year, a phrase bubbled up: “Seek and you will find.” An irony because I was seeking a theme…but a message that sent me to my Bible to read the Gospel of Luke. Jesus says, “And I tell you: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9) These words are spoken not too long after the disciples ask Jesus to “teach us to pray,” and Jesus gives them the words of the Lord’s prayer. Jesus continues by describing us as ones who can pray with persistence, brashness or shamelessness, and shares an image of God the Creator as a parent who is generous in response to the needs of the children. The whole passage is also about the gift of the Holy Spirit — that as we ask, seek, and knock, we are given what we need – that is, God! We are shaped and formed by the Spirit.
That’s a lot, right? Just coming from some words that bubbled up…seek and you will find.
This is our theme for 2023: Seek and You will Find. It is always the invitation, throughout our life, but there is goodness in making it our focus for a year. What deep longing of and for God is present in you? In what ways are you being invited to “ask, seek, knock?” What amazing promise we are given that when we do, we will receive, find and be opened to!
In this past year, we began a new ministry of offering prayer during communion on the first Sunday of the month. This is an opportunity to bring concerns, burdens, griefs, needs, hopes or whatever is on our hearts and minds to God, alongside and through the prayers of siblings in Christ. For the month of January, we will offer this every Sunday. I encourage you to let it be the start of a year of asking, seeking and knocking. May we as a community be shaped and re-formed again and again in our seeking. May we find the goodness of God in our midst. May the will of God be done and may the kingdom of God come among us. May we seek and find.
Peace be with you,
Pastor Liz
As I reflected on what might be our congregation’s theme for the new year, a phrase bubbled up: “Seek and you will find.” An irony because I was seeking a theme…but a message that sent me to my Bible to read the Gospel of Luke. Jesus says, “And I tell you: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9) These words are spoken not too long after the disciples ask Jesus to “teach us to pray,” and Jesus gives them the words of the Lord’s prayer. Jesus continues by describing us as ones who can pray with persistence, brashness or shamelessness, and shares an image of God the Creator as a parent who is generous in response to the needs of the children. The whole passage is also about the gift of the Holy Spirit — that as we ask, seek, and knock, we are given what we need – that is, God! We are shaped and formed by the Spirit.
That’s a lot, right? Just coming from some words that bubbled up…seek and you will find.
This is our theme for 2023: Seek and You will Find. It is always the invitation, throughout our life, but there is goodness in making it our focus for a year. What deep longing of and for God is present in you? In what ways are you being invited to “ask, seek, knock?” What amazing promise we are given that when we do, we will receive, find and be opened to!
In this past year, we began a new ministry of offering prayer during communion on the first Sunday of the month. This is an opportunity to bring concerns, burdens, griefs, needs, hopes or whatever is on our hearts and minds to God, alongside and through the prayers of siblings in Christ. For the month of January, we will offer this every Sunday. I encourage you to let it be the start of a year of asking, seeking and knocking. May we as a community be shaped and re-formed again and again in our seeking. May we find the goodness of God in our midst. May the will of God be done and may the kingdom of God come among us. May we seek and find.
Peace be with you,
Pastor Liz
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