Dear Friends and Family of RRUMC,
I wanted to take time in this article tocelebrate a couple things that have happened recently in the church.
There are many times that we are so busy working to help people meet Jesus Christ in the midst of their story, like our mission and vision states, that we forget to celebrate it when we accomplish it. On May 21, we confirmed 15 youth of our church. It was an incredible Confirmation Sunday. The first thing to celebrate is the simple fact that we had it. There are many United Methodist churches that have not had a confirmation class in years. I want to celebrate our youth director, Steven Young, and the incredible work he did again this year to bring those youth along in their faith so that they could claim Christ for themselves.
A big thank you to Michael Parry as well, who was Steven’s right-hand man throughout the entire confirmation year. Those two worked tirelessly to bring those youth to a point where they could answer the most important question a person will ever answer in their life. That question is, “Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?” All 15 answered, “I DO!” I thank God and celebrate the fact that those 15 teenagers are changed forever, and that answer means that they will truly know forever.
Their journey started all the way back at their baptism when their parents answered, “I Do!” to that exact same question. It was then incumbent upon the parents to teach their child about faith in Jesus, to live a life that modeled faith in Jesus, and to take them to RRUMC to see a church living out their faith in Jesus. I want to celebrate that in June we have three more babies being baptized. That means that three babies have now begun their journey that will hopefully lead them to their Confirmation Sunday 13 or so years from now when they will answer that question and claim Christ for themselves.
As a congregation, may we always take time to celebrate the fact that we not only have a mission and vision, which states, “It’s all about the story. We exist to help people meet Jesus Christ in the midst of their story,” but we are living into it wholly and completely. Those three babies and 15 confirmands are proof that Jesus Christ is still moving in the life of this congregation and changing the lives of the people within it.
Please offer a prayer of thanksgiving this month for your church and the way Christ is alive and moving in and through it. Thank you, Lord!
Peace and Blessings,
Rev. Dan