Dearest Friends in Christ,

As the calendar turns, my hope for the New Year is for the blessings of faith – serenity, calm, hope, joy, love and peace.  May we all feel the presence of God’s Spirit upon us and within us as we journey together into the future that God has planned for us.

2017 is the 150th anniversary year for Lee Church Congregational, and as I suggested a few months ago, I would like to celebrate a different aspect of what we are about as a community of faith each month – January will be social justice.  This seemed to be an
appropriate focus for January, as it is the month in which we remember, with praise to God, the work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others who have labored for the cause of social justice in our country.  What are the social justice causes that are
important to us and how are we engaging these issues in our community?  This is an
important topic for consideration as we begin to think about our identity as a community of faith, called to serve in the name of the Christ.

As we embrace the New Year, let us be grateful for the blessings of 2016, even as we hold in our hearts the losses and challenges that the last 12 months also brought to our lives.  Our comfort is that through all of these experience, God has been with us, loving us and guiding us all of our days.

Blessings,

Pastor Gail