Dear Friends,
This is a time to be thankful, to count our blessings. Please let me share with you what a blessing it is for me to serve at Royal Oak First. I am so grateful to be part of such a vibrant congregation.
Thanksgiving is filled with so many things: turkey and dressing, family, community. It is also filled with family dynamics and all those anxious moments around the table. Of course, no Thanksgiving is complete without eating entirely too much, followed by the post dinner nap.
So, this Sunday we recognize that it is time to put down the turkey leg and “get moving.” We look at God’s call to Abram and Sarai, looking closely at that first word. God says, “Go.” God promises many things to Abram and Sarai but to receive the full abundance they must first get moving. We often talk about God moving in the world, but we learn in Genesis that God moves through people like Abram and Sarai, people like you and me. Where is God calling you? Is it to a new place, a new way to serve or simply a new state of mind?
I see so many from our congregation for whom “moving” is a big issue. Wheel chairs and walkers, age and illness make even getting to church difficult. I left a visit with Lee Hoffman a couple of weeks ago feeling so helpless. Lee lives at Woodward Hills. She wants to come to worship so badly, but getting her to Royal Oak is not simple. I called Nancy Thompson who heads up our new Transportation Ministry and she started making calls. Sure enough, on Sunday morning, in comes Annette Wahl pushing Lee Hoffman’s wheelchair down the center aisle. From that point, I sat back and watched as the spirit of the living God moved through the congregation. Jay Dunstan and Paul Kremer stepped up and agreed to alternate Sundays for the next month, picking up both Lee and Dori Bridson from Woodward Hills. This is only the beginning as we work to get any and all who want to worship here each week. The transportation ministry at Royal Oak First is moving down the road (pun intended). If you want to be part this important ministry (or if you are one of the many who are picking up folks each Sunday), please contact Nancy Thompson at transportation@rofum.org.
Wherever God is calling you, just know that God’s Kingdom is not standing still. Don’t miss the abundance you will find when you answer the call.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Myra