“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”  John 1:1-2

“New Beginnings.”  That is the title for the first sermon of 2016.  Not very original, I must admit, but very appropriate.  Each new year brings the chance for renewal.  Each new year brings the reality of change.  Looking back over the past year, we see just how much has happened for our church and for each of us personally.  While change is as inevitable as the passing of time, we can rely on one thing to remain steady.  The triune God will always remain with us and unchanged.
Over the advent season, we focused on the Light of Christ shining in our lives and through us.  As we move into this new year, we will continue to focus on how Jesus is at work in and around us both personally and in our church.  Each of us will have to make choices and changes throughout this year – some we know about now and others are still to be revealed to us.  How fortunate for us that God already knows what is instore and will be with us to see us through.  We will not be alone in our joys, our sorrows, our frustrations, our worries, or our elations!
As a church, we will also be working on new beginnings.  At our January meeting, we will be discussing what comes next for our church.  During 2015 we saw many changes: the retirement of our Pastor and the decision to have a time of rest with a lay-pastor.  During that time of rest we have seen members coming and going, small groups reaching out to the community in many ways, the reinstatement of Church Suppers, and the formation of a Bible study group – that doesn’t sound like rest!  That sounds like Christ making us ready for change and action!
I urge everyone to come to the Annual meeting on January 24.  We’ll be talking about what comes next.  Are we ready to begin the process of calling a new Pastor or do we need more time to rest?  How should we go about reforming committees?  Are we ready to look at our bylaws again and make the appropriate changes?  What do we want to look like in the community of Sharon?  So much to pray and think about.  I really hope that many people will come out for this meeting to let everyone know how they think things are going and what else they feel God is calling us to do!  God definitely has a plan for us – let’s talk and figure out what He is telling us!

In Peace,

— Sunnie