Pastor's Column in the April Newsletter

Greetings Resurrection People!

The first “resurrection people,” the disciples of Jesus, responded to the good news of God’s triumph over death in varied ways. Some women trembled at the news (see Mark 16:8). Another woman asked a gardener where they had moved Jesus’ body (John 20:11-18). The men did not believe the resurrection word of the women (see Luke 24:22-24). Others sought to escape the confusion by leaving town (see Luke 24:13-35). Some doubted in the bodily resurrected and others believed (see John 20:19-29). Ultimately every one of those followers was commissioned by Jesus to “be my witnesses to the end of the earth” (see Acts 1:8). Ever since that first commissioning, to be baptized into the body of Christ was to accept the call to be a missionary.

Missionary (noun) / one who attempts to convert others to a specific way of life, set of ideas, or course of action (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus). These words define our worship and preaching themes for the weeks following Easter. Each week we will talk about the large and small ways that each of us can engage in the task of carrying the good news of God’s love to every person with whom we relate to every day. I invite you to challenged by the Word of God to examine the moments in your life when you could invite someone to meet Jesus, to prepare our children to follow in the Way, to see our places of work and play as opportunities for God to move among us, and to examine how God uses our weaknesses and excuses to make a way for someone else to meet Jesus. I hope you will find your place among the saints and sinners of Queen Street UMC who are following the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

As we worship I invite you to join us for our Wednesday night fellowship meal and Bible Study. This month we will be moving into a discussion of how the Spirit of God calls us into the community of faith. We will remind ourselves that the song from our childhood that says “here is the church and here is the steeple; open the doors and see all the people” forgets that first and foremost the church has always been the people – the community of faith.

Grace and Peace, Allen