From your pastor…
1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations. – Matthew 1:1,17
As a kid and youth, I struggled with reading, and I remember complaining, “Can’t I just read about something that could really happen?” When I found non-fiction books, biographies, and memoirs, and I was hooked. I’ve been a reader and a history fan ever since. I love history, and I ended up majoring in history in college. I find it fascinating to learn about other cultures, your own past, and where and how things are connected.
Our new testament opens up with the genealogy of Jesus. It isn’t the most captivating introductory paragraph I’ve ever read, but it does provide us with the history and the background for what came before Jesus. It connects the story of Jesus in the New Testament to those in the Old Testament. It grounds us in the familiar, and it gives us a jumping off point. It reminds us of the importance of those who come before Jesus, and how a path has been laid in order for him to fulfill his destiny.
But that’s not just true for Jesus; it’s true for all of us. We are made up of our experiences and memories we’ve created in our lives as well as the DNA of our ancestors. We all have a history. And our church is no different.
This year Algiers United Methodist Church is celebrating it’s 175th anniversary. That’s 175 years of making disciples. That’s 175 years of serving people right here in this community. That’s 175 years of baptisms, confirmations, and of sharing the love of Christ. That’s a lot to be proud of!
So we will be celebrating on Sunday, March 29th in worship. We will invite our past pastors to join us in worship – both those who served here at Algiers UMC and those who were formed and called here at Algiers UMC. We will have a potluck lunch, with the main dish provided, following worship that Sunday.
If you are interested in helping in the celebration in anyway (making a slide show, helping with decorations, providing food, advertising for this event, sending letters, etc.), please email me at revbookter@gmail.com to let me know.
We hope that everyone will make time to join us on March 29th for worship at 11am and lunch at noon as we celebrate the legacy of this church and its bright future!
Happy 175 years! And here’s to 175 more!
Grace and peace,
Rev. Colleen
