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Worship
Schedule For more information about the images in our site, including the image of Christ and the UCC logo, click on the image. |
743 E. Pleasant Run Pkwy, S. Dr. |
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Welcome to Garfield Park United
Church of Christ. Please come "inside" and join us. We invite to
visit us and get to know us. We hope you will find it an inviting place to
praise and worship God and learn to walk in His path. |
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Pastor Tom Blossom's Weekly Update
Dear Family in Jesus' Love, The Bible
continually reminds us in the land of great blessings not to forget the
Lord, the Source of all goodness!!! See you in Worship! In the
near future we'll be broadening our musical Glorifying of God in our
10:30 AM Lord's Day Worship time. Being born of two musician
parents, I'm pretty sensitive to musical styles as well as words.
We won't be singing or hearing music we pastors don't feel properly
glorifies God. Our musical
team includes our fantastic pair leading the choir and playing the organ
and piano - and a dedicated, hard working choir - and soon a Praise
Band, under the leadership of Charley Grahn, which has a great heart for
God. Thanks be to God! I love to give Glory to God in
Worship everywhere I can, and I know you do too! Thank you to
all who shared in the Annual Meeting - a good attendance! -part of the
price we pay for not having a small group or a beauracracy somewhere
else govern our church business. As
most of you know by now I am retiring from our beloved church at the
beginning of March next year. (I'm starting our next investment in
God's future teaching confirmation / H2H, Head to the Heart, this Sunday
at 5 PM, with pastor Mark following through to completion!) Our
church has a world of reactions to this change. The older I get
the less I like change. Yet Susan and I both felt this is the
right time for both the church and the two of us to begin new chapters
in glorifying God. All
change produces some anxiety - I know we're anxious about the future and
yet confident and praying for God's continuing crucial outreach to all
in and beyond our church. Jesus said the gates of hell would not
prevail against his church! And in
grief we all experience some feeling of rejection of the reality -we
don't want to deal with it. Also bargaining - if we do this or
that it will be different. We get angry; this shouldn't happen! -
and sometimes say things and blame people who may not be at fault at
all; we may want to avoid having to deal with hard things. We can
get depressed, even run away from things we don't like - not realizing
the shallowness of that "non-solution" to changes, which
seem to keep coming, whether we like them or not. With much
prayer, thought, conversation with those we love, and accepting our
journey through all those, praying, listening to others who are sharing,
we reach a point where God gives us courage to walk on faithfully and
with love. May God bring our church out stronger, for his Glory -
that is the Prayer of Hope that befits our Lord. Looking
forward to a warm church and loving community to Worship God this
Thanksgiving Lord's Day as always, in Jesus' Love, /pastor tom |
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