From your pastor…
Jesus said: “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.” (Mark 10:45a)
My great niece has just had a birthday. She is now six years old. Her greatest desire is to experience the joy of playing in the snow. She lives in the South, and has never seen snow personally. She has only seen it on TV and in her favorite movie, Disney’s FROZEN. She wants to build a snowman, and have a snowball fight with her little brother. She is going to have to travel north for her dream to come true, and she is trying to talk her grandmother into taking a little trip with all of them!
What about you? What do your dreams consist of? Have you ever thought about becoming an angel? There are angel applications on my desk right now. More specifically, the angel applications are for the Kairos Outside Ministry. In the Bible, angels are simply God’s messengers and servants. They speak what God wants said, and they do what God asks them to do. Angels are very special, indeed.
The next Kairos Outside spiritual retreat is scheduled for April 1-3, 2016 at Camp Istrouma near Baton Rouge. This retreat is for women who have loved ones incarcerated. Help is needed for transportation to the event on Friday and pick up on Sunday evening. In addition to being a transportation angel, there are opportunities to serve in the dining room or other parts of the Camp. You can give one hour or a day, whatever time you have to offer. There is an angel coordinator who can share with you specific instructions. There are two retreats per year, and for many of the women who attend, it is a life-changing event. It is a safe space to share the challenges of life with an incarcerated loved one with others who understand. The whole family is impacted by incarceration.
This is only one path to becoming an angel! There are so many opportunities every day to serve as a messenger and servant of God. We will be doing the Skeeter Run soon to fight malaria. You can buy five cards for $25. to give a homeless person five days of shelter, food, and clothing at The MISSION here in New Orleans. You can give to the local food bank on SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY, Feb. 7. We will need helpers for our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Palm Sunday. Also, if any of you like to knit, we are collecting scarves, hats, and gloves for the homeless to share through the ministry of Luke’s House at Mt. Zion and Peoples United Methodist Churches. During the season of Lent, let us think more of a sacrifice of giving of our time to help others along their journeys toward wholeness. Jesus came to serve, and so that is our mission, now and always. Become an angel today! What are you waiting for?
Rev. Becky