November 4, 2014
November Greetings,
I trust that if you have not already voted you will vote before the polls close today. Voting is both a sacred right, and dare I say, a sacred duty.
Stewardship is our theme these first three Sundays of November. Steward is a frequent biblical description of the role of God’s people in God’s world. As stewards we understand that we are the caretakers, rather than the owners, of God’s good gifts. This year at LABC we are lifting up the ways in which we are stewards of our memories, stewards of the Scripture, and stewards of the Church. This past Sunday, All Saints Sunday, we focused on our identity as stewards of our memories. This coming Sunday we will focus on our identity as stewards of the Scripture.
In worship we will read Matthew 25: 1-13, Jesus’ parable of the ten bridesmaids. In the parable, the bridesmaids were accountable for their own actions. They had been given lamps to use; it was their responsibility to not let the light go out, to keep their lamps burning.
Like the bridesmaids, we have been given a significant gift. We have been given the gift of the Scripture. It is our role to let the Scripture speak to us and shape us. It is our place to search the Scipture and be searched by it. Karl Barth, the Swiss theologian who helped the German church resist the Nazis, would remind us that as stewards of the Scripture our job is not so much to grasp the message of the text but to “be grasped by it.” Of course, the best way to be grasped by the Scripture is to read it regularly and to read it regularly in community.
Prayers of the Congregation
- The family of friends of John Small as they grieve. John was a member of our congregation for far too short a time.
- John Claassen as visits his mother who is in hospice care
- Ruth Smith who has entered hospice care
- Thanksgiving with Denise Randall that her health is improving
- Kay Baxter for Stacey, Jamie and herself
- Paige Bence and John Lee for Pat Keane
- Phil and Gloria Meads and Cindy Nelson for June, Billy and Jean
- Joan Patten for her friend John, Frances Graham, Edna Dorenzo and Virginia Damretzky
- Ted and Doris Evans for their family and for themselves
- Marie Johnson for Ruth and Bob
- Ginny Axtell
- Zondra Martin for Joyce Ammons
- Al Johnson and Roy Browner
- Myra Saxton for her mother, Lucille Riggins
- Connie Hector as she cares for her family
- Lee, who has been worshipping with us, as she returns to Korea
- Ruben Artery for his father
- Edie Parrot for her son
- Jessie Guiton for her sister
- Margaret Oladoja for her family
- Larry Sims for his family
- The local, national and global ministries of the American Baptist Churches USA under the leadership of our General Secretary, Roy Medley
- Pastor Tanner as she visits her family
- Julie Milcoff and family
- Our Aspire and Acheive program at Oakland Tech. We are hoping for more students to sign up
- All the households of our nation who have been traumatized by gun violence
- Mikki Boyd for her dad who is recuperating from injuries after being hit by a car while walking
Announcements
Forever Young, an intergenerational social gathering, will meet this Saturday at 12:30 in the Family Room. Our own Aaron Hopkins, D.P.T, will be instructing us on staying active and fit.
There will be a Quarterly Meeting of the Congregation immediately following worship on Sunday. The two scheduled agenda items are the election of officers and approval of the Preliminary Budget.
The American Bapitst Churches have produced a wonderful short film about our shared ministry titled “Inspired, Transformed…” Follow this link to view the film.