After 2 months I have begun to settle into my role as your Church Council President. I/we are blessed to have such a faithful, hardworking, and diverse group of people on Council as well as the other committees and groups joining together to make St. John’s UCC a faithful, beloved, and welcoming place.
In fact, everyone within our St. John’s church family makes St. John’s a wonderful place to be in our walk with Jesus. I look forward in great anticipation to remarkable things happening at St. John’s to make it a vibrant and faith-filled community. A community that will meet the spiritual and emotional needs of not only our church family, but also the wider community.
I was recently thinking about St. John’s in general and the parable of the mustard seed popped into my head. The mustard seed is the smallest seed, yet it grows into an exceptionally large bush. Jesus told the parable using the mustard seed to symbolize God’s Kingdom.
Jesus’ teaching regularly highlighted small acts of great value. From the widow’s mite to the woman washing His feet (Mark 14:6-9), small gifts in the Gospel pages are highlighted as having significant and eternal value. No one would purposely sow a mustard seed because the mustard plant is an invasive weed. The mustard plant symbolizes something small that grows exponentially. God’s kingdom started out small, a rabbi and 12 men. But God’s kingdom grew to spread throughout the world!
Through our small acts we can grow and spread like the mustard seed does. Welcoming whoever comes among our midst no matter where they are in their life’s journey, they will be welcomed at St. John’s UCC. They will be a part of our growth in faithfulness to become a part of God’s Kingdom and walk together with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Shalom,
Matt