From Veronica...

John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer

I give myself completely to you, God.
Assign me to my place in your creation.
Let me suffer for you.
Give me the work you would have me do.
Give me many tasks
Or have me step aside while you call others.
Give me riches or let me live in poverty.
I freely give all that I am and
All that I have to you.
And now, holy God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine and I am yours. So be it.
May this covenant made on earth continue
For all eternity. Amen

This prayer has hung in my office and in my home for years. I often pray it in hopes that I will truly seek God’s will and serve Him. I share this prayer with you today and hope that it will become one of your favorite prayers as well.

The lines of this prayer that stand out to me today are:
Give me the work you would have me do.
Give me many tasks or have me step aside while you call others

Many people in our church family have joyfully done the many tasks that God would have them to do and now are stepping aside while God calls others. We have faithful servants of our church who have served in a particular area of ministry as many as 20 years. God has blessed them and our church through their service. Now they are stepping aside in order to serve God in other ways. As we thank them for their service and pray that God will continue to bless them, we open our hearts and minds to seek whom God is calling to step up and fill these positions of leadership.

The Lay Leadership Committee (Nominations) will be meeting in the next few weeks to discern the new leadership for 2011. Members of this committee will be contacting people to fill these positions and we ask that you prayerfully consider the request. If you feel as if God is calling you to serve on a committee or as a committee leader for the upcoming years, I ask that you do not wait to be asked instead contact a member of the Lay Leadership Committee or one of the pastors soon.

There are other areas of ministry that are in need of volunteers that are not addressed by the Lay Leadership Committee. Please prayerfully consider if God is calling you to serve one of the following:
Sr. High Youth Sunday school teacher – This is a weekly commitment of preparing and leading our high school students during the Sunday school hour. It would be nice to have 2 or 3 people rotate on a monthly basis.
Visual aides (Media Shout) administrator – This is the computer program that we utilize for our visuals during the Grace Worship service at 8:30 a.m. every Sunday morning. You must feel comfortable working on a computer and be willing to attend the Grace service each Sunday. This position also requires some preparation time during the week. It would be really great if 2 or 3 people would volunteer so that we could set this up on a rotating basis. Training will be provided.

Sunday school superintendent – This is a weekly responsibility of recording Sunday school attendance and giving. This position also includes ordering curriculum on a quarterly basis.

There are many opportunities to service in our church and we are blessed that many people have heard the calling to service and said yes. We are in immediate need for someone to step forward in these three areas mentioned above. If you are interested please contact me at 453-7597 or email me at veronicapritchard@hotmail.com.