“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” - John 15:4
Dear St. Andrew’s Family,
In worship, I recently told the story of a time in college when I began to complain to my friends about something petty. As I was complaining, a good friend started slowly walking around me in a circle. “What are you doing?” I yelled. He replied, “Oh, I’m sorry, I got sucked into your gravitational pull. I am caught in your orbit!”
This was a vivid lesson for me of how easy it is to become absorbed in our own little universe. We can become so self-consumed that there is no room for others or for God. Through the Gospels, Jesus insists that life does not have to be this way. Instead of living for ourselves, we can thrive in the abiding presence of a gracious God. Instead of being a dark, empty, black hole, we can be light in the world.
So much of our journey in Christ involves discovering what it means to live beyond ourselves. The church is a movement of those who seek to further the blessings of God by blessing others through hope, courage, joy and peace. Every ministry of St. Andrew’s is built upon the foundation of Christ’s life-altering message. From covenant groups to recovery groups, from choir trips to mission trips, we seek to live out and proclaim this saving message of generosity. As we stand on the precipice of significant leadership change in our church, we have the opportunity to build upon and advance the legacy of the Gospel into new arenas of our neighborhood, the community and the world.
As we finish a significant 2009 and make our ministry plans for 2010, I encourage you to prayerfully consider how we might together magnify the name of Christ and manifest God’s presence for others. Enclosed in this mailing is a commitment card for next year’s budget. Your intentionality with this information helps the leaders of the church to be good stewards of the resources God entrusts to us. The work of the church is akin to a Copernican revolution of the soul. Instead of expecting the world to revolve around us, we are swept up into the orbit of God’s great love.
With great joy in Christ,
Richard Kannwischer
SATURDAY, July 31 at 5:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, August 1 at 8:00, 9:30 and 11:11 a.m.
Laura Johnson
Summer Road Trip Series
"A Critical Junction"
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600 St. Andrews Road.
Newport Beach CA. 92663
Tel. 949-631-2880
Email. info@standrewspres.org
Copyright ©2010
St. Andrews
Presbyterian Church
