Dear Church Family, I recently preached a sermon at BUMC called, “Where is God?” In that sermon, I noted that God primarily works in the world through human instruments, especially through the church. As the “body of Christ” we are called to be Jesus’ hands, arms, feet and heart. Our task as Christ’s church is to carry on the compassion and mission of our Lord. In the next couple of months, we have the opportunity to live that out in a powerful way through our annual Habitat for Humanity build. I’ve long been a fan of Habitat. A few months before moving to Brentwood, I attended the dedication ceremony for a Habitat home that my previous congregation built. A large number of people showed up, all of whom had played a role in building and/or financing the house. During the ceremony the woman receiving the home gave a brief thank-you speech. She said to the crowd, “God provided this home for my family and me. But God used all of you to make it happen.” That same story is about to happen at BUMC. God is going to provide a family with a new home. And God is going to use our congregation to make it happen. This weekend, you will be introduced to the family we are partnering with. You will also
have the opportunity to make a financial gift for this project. Our goal is $70,000. I hope you will give generously. But please remember, this needs to be a “second mile” gift, over and above your regular budget offering. Beyond financial gifts, we also need people to sign up to work on the site. You can do so in the narthex over the next few weekends. I’m excited about this upcoming Habitat build, and am proud of our long involvement in this life-changing ministry. Before concluding, I want to brag on you. For the past several weeks we have received excellent offerings. Thank you for your generosity. I hope to see you this weekend at one of our four worship services on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. We’ll be exploring the question, “What matters most?” Our text will be Mark 12:28-34. Finally, it was good to receive Meagan Burton-Krieger and Savannah Fulton as new members. Welcome to our church family. In Christ’s Love and Service, Martin