So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

This passage of Scripture is where the theme for the 25th Anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church comes from – Always being made new! It could just as easily be used for our congregation as we celebrate 50 years of mission and ministry. We are celebrating that in Jesus Christ, we are made new every day. Even as we celebrate and give thanks for what has been, we look ahead with hopeful anticipation of what is to come.

In celebrating the founding of Abiding Presence, we worshiped using a new liturgy. The choir proclaimed the gospel with a new anthem. We gathered in a new location for a wonderful meal and program. All generations danced to songs old and new! God is certainly making us new with the winds of the Holy Spirit blowing through our congregation.

We pray that we will continue to be a congregation that is open to receiving all the gifts that God bestows on us – gifts of new relationships, new possibilities for ministry, new energy and vision to be the ambassadors for Christ that we are called to be.

Contributed by Tracie
Monday September 23, 2013
Liturgical Year C: Week 43
Liturgical Color: Green
Sunday Gospel reading: Proper 20
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost