Being One in Christ Jesus means being a member of the family of God. Since last fall I have had the blessing of getting to know our church family. Recognizing and remembering names is important, but not always easy. One thing that helps me in learning names is learning more about family, about relationships and so on.

Today family experts observe that there has been much change in the life of American families. For one thing, families dine together, that is - all at one table, at one time, the same meal, with less and less frequency. Even when the family eats at the same time, they don't eat the same meal; in the era of Burger King, everyone wants to have it their way! And then even when eating the same meal, one is in front of the TV, two others are on phones, while another eats from the kitchen counter so as to get a head start on cleaning up dishes. Sound familiar? Sitting down as a family together is a blessing, no doubt . . . But how does this relate to our church family?

In the book of Acts we read, "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts." 2.46 In many ways the Bible likens our Sabbath gathering to a family meal. And as it is with families, we want to have every member from every generation present to feast upon God's living Word. To that end, imagine all 960 of our members coming to worship. "WOW, WHAT A BLESSING!!!"

Sadly, we are falling far short of that. What to do? As pastor I am asking you to join with me in prayer for those who are not present. And understanding that many of you are already praying for this very thing, let me urge you in Christ, hang in there, don't give up, KEEP PRAYING. God is enjoining you in His work to gather His flock. According to His promise, 'That He who began a good work in you will bring in to completion in the Day of our Lord Jesus.' Phil 1.6 Pray for wisdom and for the right word to speak to anyone who has given up on worship. Most of all remember that faith comes by hearing the message and the message is the Gospel of Christ. Faith is God's gift, the work of the Holy Spirit by God's word and means of grace.

Pastor Kelly Mitteis