Table Talk Newsletter
Pastor’s Letter
Grace and peace to you. Happy New Year! 01 December will start the 2025 church new year. As we end the 2024 church year and begin 2025, are you MAD? I don’t know about you, but I hope I am MAD. It is a good time to be MAD. I am not talking about mad, as in being angry, for example, ‘ I am mad about the lies and misinformation spewed by the media about refugees and migrants.’ Though I am angry over the US border policy, the mad I am referring to is something a little different. And I am I not talking about being mad, as being mentally ill, an outmoded pejorative word. The mad I refer is . . . . MAD – Making a Difference.
My intentional journey to be MAD began many years ago. I was growing more frustrated with our poor stewardship of the world’s resources, e.g. land, minerals, forests, water- bodies, and their inhabitants. I was also noticing the lack of care and compassion folks were sharing. My frustration and anger were negatively affecting my disposition, i.e. they were having an impact on my personality and temperament. Guided by the Holy Spirit, during prayer, reflection, and conversation with others, I realized that for my health and well-being, for the health and well-being of all of Gods creation, I needed to make some personal changes. It dawned on me that, Yes, I do need to be MAD . . . I need to try to make a difference.
I could go on and on about the changes I have made, and the changes I am making, but they are all stuff I am working on. For me it has been a journey and will continue to be a journey of growing in self-awareness and God’s love for me and all of creation.
I opened this piece with asking you a question, “Are You MAD?” Each and every one of us as disciples are called to make a difference, speaking to and practicing the Christian faith in a world infected by me-first attitudes, disregard for one another’s humanity, secular dis-ease and fear, etc. We have the opportunity to make a difference with the wonderful assortment of gifts and talents which we have been blessed. Notice in the previous paragraphs I was not specific about the stuff I am doing in making a difference. Your gifts and talents are different than mine, and your participation and contribution will look somewhat different. But all are called and can be MAD.
As the new year begins, I encourage you to continue to grow in awareness of your gifts and resources and how, guided by the Holy Spirit, you can best share God’s love and compassion shown to us in Jesus to make a difference in the world. As you reflect and consider ways to share God’s love, you may need to make some changes. Some of the changes will be easy, others will be difficult and cause some serious challenges. But journey knowing that you are loved and accompanied by the Almighty.
Blessings to you on your journey making a difference.
Salam, Shalom, Peace,
Pastor Raymond
Council President’s Corner
Blessings to you and your families during this holiday season.
I am writing this the day before Thanksgiving. You will not read it until afterwards. I hope that all of you had an opportunity to spend time with your loved ones, and had a chance to give thanks for all of the blessings you have received. One of the things I am thankful for is the blessings you have brought to our church. CTK is part of my extended family, and I appreciate each and every one of you.
Advent and the Christmas Season is before us. It is meant to be a season of Joy, and renewal. But it can also be a time of stress. Besides shopping for the perfect presents for those we love and appreciate, we are also checking our yearly To-Do Lists as the year comes to an end.
I hope that one thing high on your list is attending the Congregational Meeting on December 8th. This meeting gives us a chance to review all that we accomplished this past year, and the list is a long one. Please review the Annual Report that is being sent out by Dana in advance of the meeting. You may be surprised by all that we have accomplished. We can be proud of all that we have done to honor our commitment to CTK and to our fellow humans via our ministries.
This is also a time to plan for the future. Some of those plans are detailed in our budget for next year. You all have a responsibility to know where your money is being spent to carry out Jesus’ mandate to love one another. You will have an opportunity to ask questions and to comment on those plans for 2025 at the meeting.
One other important group involved in planning our future is the Ad Hoc Committee. This team is working very hard to see that CTK continues as a viable organization. I would like to draw your attention to their report on page 5 of this edition of Table Talk, submitted by Alan Claassen. There are exciting times before us.
Happy Holidays,
Jim Sepeda