SO WHAT’S LEFT?
[A follow up to Monday’s post about Simeon and Anna from Luke 2:21-38]
Hopefully by today there is nothing left to do. Maybe you have some more time off work (or maybe you’re retired). Maybe there was no family gathering to clean up after. Something tells me all the gifts have been unwrapped or delivered. All the big meals have been prepared and cleaned up after. I’m hoping all the stress has faded and everything that needed to get done is done. So what’s left? We give our thanks and praise to God.
At the end of a difficult year we still remember that God was still up to something good—God still showed up, God still provided, and God’s promise of salvation is still given to us in Jesus!
Karoline Lewis says “Because really, when do we stop, ponder, consider that all God wants, all God needs, all we need, is simply to say “Wow, God. I don’t know what else to say. I just cannot find the right words. All I know to do is sing.”
Be like Simeon and Anna—just glad that God showed up. God promised to show up and God has shown up. Simeon and Anna don’t ask anything of Jesus, they just experience joy in his presence.
Karoline Lewis says “praise the moment God showed up.”[1]
We have a lot of praise to give for the ways God showed up through Easter Lutheran Church this past year (here’s a snapshot):
We called and installed a new Lead Pastor
We experimented with worship via many locations: live stream, online videos, parking lot, backyard, and more
Bible studies met over Zoom and reached more people than ever before
Our partner congregation in Tanzania added a new preaching point called Kibirala, welcomed a new evangelist to the Mpilipili preaching point (which has grown from 30 worshipers to 300)
Our partner congregation in Guatemala has received and helped distribute much needed aid for covid and flood relief
Easter’s Outreach partners are serving more people than ever before, especially through Loaves and Fishes curbside meals
We confirmed around 70 students (spread out across many smaller worship services)
Baptisms continued for small family groups
We started a Racial Equity Leadership Team to start working on being a more loving and inclusive community
The Christmas Drive Thru event saw more than 550 cars experience the Christmas story in a new way
Over 380 gift cards were donated through our annual Holiday Gift Shop
This is just a snapshot of the many ways God has shown up in powerful ways to us and through us at Easter Lutheran Church. We give our thanks and praise and we know God will continue to show up in powerful ways into the new year.
Thank you, Easter Lutheran Church, for the many ways God shows up in the world through you!
I’m looking forward to 2021~
PB
P.S. it’s not too late to make an end of the year donation to support the transformational ministries at Easter Lutheran Church. Simply go to www.easter.org/give.
[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/just-praise.