A Full Complement of Pastors
God is doing a lot of wonderful things within our congregation and in our surrounding community. We need to keep our eyes opened and ask God to show us the way he is at work already.
Last week the pastors of the Carlock Mennonite Church, the Carlock Christian Church, and First Presbyterian Church of Danvers all met here with me to discuss our joint services. We noted that it’s the first time in a long time that all four congregations have permanent pastors. I believe God is working through this and I’m excited to see how he uses it for his purpose. You can come next Sunday night here to North Danvers at 5:30 pm to meet them all and have some good chili in support of the Foods Resource Bank.
Bryan Burris is the new pastor at Carlock Christian Church. Under his direction they will be holding an Easter Vigil this year for the first time. Bryan wrote about this in their newsletter. I’ve posted the entire article on our bulletin board if you’d like to read it, but let me share part of what Bryan said about this service:
“Our Easter Vigil will be held on March 24 beginning at 7 p.m. Having participated in my first Easter Vigil last year, I can affirm that it is a very meaningful service as we prepare for Easter Sunday. We will modify the service to make it relevant to our context. For example, notice we are starting at 7 p.m. and no one will be required to wait until midnight to take communion! However, we will maintain the integrity of the service because in it we recognize our tie with the church which has existed for centuries. I encourage you to invite others to participate in this unique service. While the Easter Vigil is something very old, it is also offers something new as we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and embrace the significance of resurrection in our own lives.”
If you can attend, it would be a great way to encourage Bryan and to cooperate with the other congregations. Additionally, we will have our normal joint Good Friday service at Carlock Mennonite on March 25th at 7pm. Kathy Mitchell, the pastor at the Presbyterian church, will be bringing the message and there will be a community choir. We will be holding our own Maundy Thursday service at 6pm in the fellowship hall which will include a light supper.
We are blessed to be a part of a close-knit community, and to be given the opportunity to glorify God together.
God bless,
Brian