Happy Thanksgiving Church!
We are in that period of the year of holidays and families. For me, it seems that this time of the year comes earlier and earlier. It does not help when some stores start selling artificial Christmas trees and ornaments before Halloween! That compression of time is something that seems to be experienced the older we get. In all of that, it is easy to forget the special events and milestones that have happened. This has been a full year for our little church. So many have been so faithful in so many ways. The biggest shift has been moving from the school gym to the church property. There were so many who did so much to make that happen and be so successful! We are like the home churches of 2,000 years ago, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, they changed the world! Everyone has been so flexible as we adjust to this new adventure. We are now anchored in the community that we want to bless. And our neighbors (with a few visiting) have noticed. With the restart of the sales of Christmas trees this year after a too-long hiatus, it will be an opportunity to establish communication links with our local community. Yes, there will be real sacrifices by those supporting those tree sales. But those sacrifices are appreciated because of what they will do, both this year and going forward in initially establishing relationships for our church! We were able to use the pool for baptisms! Praise God!
We have opened the green house to the boy scouts for their meetings. This has necessitated moving our weekly bible study to a different night, and again, people have been flexible.
On the property, it seems that we have been waiting for the grading permit for the longest time. One of the challenges is what can we do while we wait? Prayer, yes! But we have also completed more of the underground. Regretfully, once done, all of that wonderful underground work is done, in anticipation of a building, it is then all covered up! But at least the latest news is that all of the checkboxes have been completed, and the county has told us there is nothing else for us to do for them to issue the grading permit. We are going to wait until after the finish of the Christmas tree sales to initiate that process. And it was this year that another donor has shown up to make a large donation for the property development fund. Our God is removing barriers!
One of the traditions of Mariners Discovery Church is to use the Thanksgiving season to find a meaningful way to express our gratitude. We are grateful for those who have gone on before us, who had a vision of a church in Discovery Bay that could make a difference for Jesus, His Kingdom, and His people. They made sacrifices, believing God for what He would do someday. They gave sacrificially of their time, their talents, and their treasure. We can also use this season as a time to be grateful to a God Who sustains us. We can express our gratitude in a physically tangible way that can translate to something in the spiritual realm. It is a way to demonstrate that our faith is real, that it changes our perspective, our beliefs and our willingness to show that God is changing us. It is also a way to declare to our family, our friends, and to our world, a faith in God that whence this gift came, more gifts will follow from God to us. The board has decided that because of what we have experienced when we had worship in the patio, it is time to look at a more permanent structure for the patio. The cost will likely be between $20,000 and $25,000 and we can use the Thanksgiving offering as a seed gift if enough does not come in to cover all of that.
May our God honor our steps of faith as we look to Him this holiday season!
Grateful to be in the grip of the One who has promised to never leave us nor forsake us,
Pastor Larry Quinnell
