Dear Friends,
Preparing for Sunday Worship (video reflections)
I hope you had a chance to view the video message I sent to you last week about the church’s regathering plan. (If not, you can find it on the church website.) I’ll aim to send you an update next week with a more specific regathering date.
In the meantime, I will continue to prepare weekly video messages reflecting on a passage in Mark’s Gospel that you can use in your time of worship on Sunday mornings – whether that be on your own, in your family, or as you gather with a small group of others from the church. Mark’s Gospel fits the genre of an ancient biography; it is Mark’s biography of Jesus. And so as you study Mark’s Gospel, it’s helpful I think to always keep three questions before you that you regularly try and answer:
- Who is Jesus?
- Why did He come? (What was His mission?)
- How should I respond to Him?
Stuart Clay – Ministry Apprentice
Stuart, Carrie and Rory joined us at Christ Church last September as Stuart began his ministry apprenticeship with us. (The attached picture is of Rory’s first birthday a couple of weeks ago.)
Christ Church started this ministry apprenticeship program partly based on a desire to fulfill instructions like that which you find in 2 Timothy 2:2. Even though COVID-19 changed the nature of some of Stuart’s apprenticeship, he and I have still kept up our regular ministry reading and reflection meetings. We were also still able to find some ways for him to observe and participate in pastoral ministry.
As scheduled, Stuart’s apprenticeship has come to an end this week with the end of June. Given our physical distancing at the moment, instead of an in-person goodbye, Stuart has prepared a video message for us. You can access it via the link below. We’ll very much miss having the Clay family around, but – as Stuart mentions in his video – hopefully we’ll see them again soon. Please do keep them in your prayers during their time of transition.
Yours in Christ,
Keith Paulus