An Invitation . . . .
One of my favorite hymns is Easter People, Raise Your Voices. The third verse says “Every day to us is Easter, with its resurrection song, when in trouble move the faster to our God who rights the wrong.” This hymn reminds us that Easter is not just about one day of the year, but that every day we are given the opportunity for resurrection, new life, a fresh start.
Throughout Eastertide, we get to hear stories of the ways that people experience the Empty Tomb. When the women reached the tomb on Easter morning, the men in white asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Their question reminds us that when we go looking for Jesus we are promised that we will find him in the places, in the people, in the situations where growth and life are occurring.
Right now, two of those places in our midst are Hope House and the Mission teams to Nicaragua and Carolina Cross Connection (CCC). We are grateful that throughout the past year, the financial need of CCC has been met. What remains is a need to assist in the reduction of debt owed on Hope House and to help fund the team traveling to Nicaragua. It is our hope that by year’s end we can pay off the line of credit we have with the bank which currently totals around $8,300. The Nicaragua team is in need of approximately $11,000 of which $5,500 will go to building supplies and $5,500 to travel scholarships.
For Hope House, we are inviting and encouraging you to find and bring the change you have lying around in your pockets, your sofa, your car. We will have collection jars available each week and hope that you will bring in your “Change for Hope.” For the mission trip, we are asking for your past generosity to return. Hope House has proven to be a wonderful home for many seniors in our community, and you will be hearing more about ministry opportunities as the year continues. The building team of twenty-one to Nicaragua will seek to aid a young church to reach more children and families in the name of Jesus. What a blessing it is that this team includes several of our family’s “children” who will put into practice the preaching and lessons you’ve shared with them.
Thanks in advance for your support of this call. We are Easter People, and we have the opportunity to share our resurrection story with those in need. We have done so before and I know that we can do it again!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Sherri