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Firstly on behalf of the present community of Our Saviour Lutheran in Richmond I WANT TO WELCOME EACH and EVERYONE OF YOU to our worship. It is exciting for us to be able to visit with and host you. It will be grand to sing, pray, hear the Word and receive the Sacrament together!
As I reflect on the past fifty years of ministry within and by this community I give thanks to God for the work that so many have done. The body of Christ is always multi-faceted. The work of the body/congregation may be carried out collectively by groups such as the ELW, the church Council, or by different committees such as Education, Greening of the Parish, Mutual Ministry, Nominating, Social Ministry, Stewardship, Worship, Youth, or as members of our Choir under the leadership of various directors. Some of you have served as members of our Day Care Board or even as a Day Care teacher. Many of you have contributed musically. Many have invested their gifts serving in our Sunday School or Vacation Bible Schools. Still others of you have quilted or baled quilts, or even created and maintained a web page reaching far beyond our local communities. Still others of you have given significant time and effort to our buildings and or grounds.
By God's grace for these fifty years we as a community have been enabled to love God, and to serve our neighbours as we seek to follow Christ. At times carrying out this ministry has been anything but easy. Nevertheless with the risen Christ leading and the Spirit equipping many have followed. Thanks be to God! Fifty years of ministry is much to celebrate and give thanks for!
As I reflect on the past fifty years of ministry within and by this community I give thanks to God for the work that so many have done. The body of Christ is always multi-faceted. The work of the body/congregation may be carried out collectively by groups such as the ELW, the church Council, or by different committees such as Education, Greening of the Parish, Mutual Ministry, Nominating, Social Ministry, Stewardship, Worship, Youth, or as members of our Choir under the leadership of various directors. Some of you have served as members of our Day Care Board or even as a Day Care teacher. Many of you have contributed musically. Many have invested their gifts serving in our Sunday School or Vacation Bible Schools. Still others of you have quilted or baled quilts, or even created and maintained a web page reaching far beyond our local communities. Still others of you have given significant time and effort to our buildings and or grounds.
By God's grace for these fifty years we as a community have been enabled to love God, and to serve our neighbours as we seek to follow Christ. At times carrying out this ministry has been anything but easy. Nevertheless with the risen Christ leading and the Spirit equipping many have followed. Thanks be to God! Fifty years of ministry is much to celebrate and give thanks for!
With our eyes opened to the risks and changes that Christian ministry always entails I wish to share two quotations with you. Let me preface them by underlining the amazing revelation that God calls us before anything we could ever do. Yet in the midst of the relationship that God's call initiates amazing things can and do occur. Firstly from Marcella Holloway (CSJ).
"One takes a risk when one invites the Lord,
Whether to dine or talk the afternoon
Away, for always the unexpected soon
Turns up: a woman breaks precious nard,
A sinner does the task you should assume,
A leper who is cleansed must show his proof:
Suddenly you see your very roof removed
And a cripple clutters up your living room.
There's no telling what to expect when Christ
Walks in that door. The table set for four
Must often be enlarged and decorum
Thrown to the wind. It's his voice that calls them…
And it's no use to bolt and bar the door.
His kingdom knows no bounds of roof, of wall, or floor."
Whether to dine or talk the afternoon
Away, for always the unexpected soon
Turns up: a woman breaks precious nard,
A sinner does the task you should assume,
A leper who is cleansed must show his proof:
Suddenly you see your very roof removed
And a cripple clutters up your living room.
There's no telling what to expect when Christ
Walks in that door. The table set for four
Must often be enlarged and decorum
Thrown to the wind. It's his voice that calls them…
And it's no use to bolt and bar the door.
His kingdom knows no bounds of roof, of wall, or floor."
The second reflection is from Chip Borgstadt lifted from a Lutheran publication, "The Parish Teacher" -
"Change is not a criticism of the way things were done in the past. It is a recognition of new opportunities for ministry in the present."
Thanks be to God for the past. By God's grace may we fully live in the present and joyfully, faithfully anticipate service that we may undertake in the future.
Pastor Tim Le Drew
written for our 50th
Anniversary Worship Service
Here are a few of the photographs from our 50th Anniversary Dinner and Worship Celebrations Sept 26-27 2009
You’ll find stories about our beginnings and our church history on our
40th Anniversary
page
And photos taken by Ralph at the Ordination and Installation Service of Pastor Vida Jaugelis on September 27, 2009
More pictures > Ralph’s Photo Albums
Celebrating Fifty Years of Praise and Thanksgiving!