Today we remember with gratefulness the anniversary of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. On November 20, 2011, we became a member church of the Presbyterian Church of America. As I reminisced a bit this week, I couldn’t help but smile. The Lord has been so good to us! As I told a pastor friend recently, the lines truly have truly fallen in pleasant places for us (Psalm 16:6).
On a personal note, let me say what an honor and joy it is to be your pastor. Thank you, thank you for the privilege it is to serve in this role, and for your willingness to put up with me year after year. (You are a longsuffering people!) I am so very grateful to call Cornerstone my church home, and I look to the years ahead with hope and expectation.
In God’s kind providence, our congregational birthday falls on the same week as our annual thanksgiving worship service. Today in worship you’ll notice thanksgiving themes in our Scripture readings and hymnody. You’ll also get the blessing of hearing a couple of saints offer testimonies of thanksgiving for the work of God in their life this year. But maybe most special of all is having our children’s choirs participate in service. Is there anything sweeter than have the voices of our covenant children leading us to the throne of grace? On that note, let me publicly express my gratefulness for David & Sue Steffens and Jessica Michaud for faithful labors in leading the children’s choirs. They’ve done such a great job.
Before I go, let me give you a brief Cornerstone financial update on the behalf of our Finance Committee. As a reminder, our fiscal year runs from July to June, so we’re about six weeks away from the halfway point. We’re thankful, as always, that our God continues to provide for our needs. We do, however, want you to know that we’re currently running behind projected giving for the year. We are trusting our ever-generous God bring us through this season, praying specifically that the current gap begins to close a bit as the end of the calendar year approaches. Would you join us in that prayer! Further, let me encourage you to continue (or begin!) giving faithfully to the work of the church, and, if feasible, consider giving a special gift before the end of the year to help us close the gap. Let’s press forward together in cheerful giving as we enter our ninth year as a church!