As you read this article you are certainly aware that we have started back mailing the newsletter.  It will go out the first of every month.  In between mailings, there will still be a weekly newsletter via email and some copies of each weekly issue available in the sanctuary.  We hope that this process will still get information into your hands as well as save the church some money in these conservative economic times.

The future has always been something that is open for speculation.  Many people have tried to predict it.  Fortune tellers want you to believe that they can tell you exactly what is going to happen in your life.  But I don’t believe that they, or the weather man, or political analysts or anybody else can accurately tell you what is coming down the pike.  They can only speculate.

I do know that what I do today has a great deal of cause and effect on how my life goes tomorrow.  I know that if I don’t take care of myself now, I will certainly reap the rewards of that in the future.  I watch my sugar and cholesterol and need to get back to some sort of exercise program so that my future might promise a healthier experience as I grow older.

The same is true for our church.  What we do today affects what will happen tomorrow.  Every behavior has consequences.  And we influence those consequences by the choices we make.  I think that Jones Memorial will be here for a long time.  The question is, what will our story be as a church in this place?  Will we be a vibrant, exciting, compassionate, outreaching, loving, spirit filled, abundant living kind of church?  Or will we be a static, boring, self-serving, ego-centric, dying, spirit less kind of church?  We make the choice.  We determine how the future unfolds.  It is not the pastor's choice…it is our choice as a body of Christ in this place. 

So, I ask you to choose.  I know the direction I want to go.  I want to build God’s Kingdom through Jones Memorial UMC.  I want to do that through my prayers, my presence, my gifts and my service.  And I want to, in the process, increase my own faith and hope and love that God gives so generously. 

I look forward to an exciting future with everyone here at JMUMC.  I hope we will all be in it together. 
                                                    God bless you all. 
                                                     Pastor Larry