PASTOR’S PEN
Reaping the Fruits (of the Spirit)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” - Galatians 5:22-23
Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. It’s not
too hot, too cold – and the colors of the sky and other natural landscapes are
absolutely beautiful! Springtime has its beauty in nature too, but I think I
like autumn even better…
Now autumn is when we celebrate harvest – the
‘fruits of our labor’, so to speak. The first ‘Thanksgiving’, was celebrated by
the first European settlers, the Plymouth Colony, in 1621. They commemorated
their harvest after a harsh winter by inviting the local Wampanoag Indians to
gather and feast together.
Speaking of ‘fruits of our labor’ – we have been
emphasizing on ‘spiritual nurture’ as a church wide focus for 2010. When we
look back on this year spiritually, I wonder what kind of ‘harvest’ we can give
thanks for and celebrate. What fruit has all the intentional reflecting and
spiritual work of this past year yielded for you and me?
I realize that the challenging thing about
answering such a question is that we are trying to measure something that
cannot be measured quantitatively. Sure, looking at the above Bible passage gives
us a picture of what spiritual harvest might look like. But how, for example,
do people measure the amount of faithfulness they have? We all know it’s not as
easy as counting the number of times they have prayed/attended
church/volunteered/etc.
However, having said that, I don’t think that
this should keep us from looking deep into our spiritual lives. In fact I
believe that in our examination, we are called to acknowledge and give thanks
in the areas in which we may have grown. Even if it’s not measurable/countable
in the traditional sense, I believe that when we reflectively look back, we are
able to identify our growth, however small – although sometimes, it takes the
help of others to do this.
Of course, we are all not ‘there yet’ – there are
many more spiritual fruits to nurture, grow and harvest. But why not allow
ourselves to take the moment to give thanks to God for the work of the Spirit
that helps yields spiritual fruit in us? Why not give thanks for the fruits,
however small, that enable us to be one step more faithful to God’s calling to
us?
As you enjoy this season of harvest and
abundance, I pray that you will not only gather and give thanks together for
our material blessings. I pray that you will also think of the many spiritual
gifts, blessings and fruits that have been nurtured in you this past year – and
give thanks for them. I pray that this autumn will end not only in basking in
the beautiful nature and its harvest, but also in God’s spiritual abundance
towards which we are working and grateful for.
Harvest (of the Spirit) blessings,
Pastor Grace Kaori Suzuki
DEACONS' REPORT
It’s October already, it seems like January was
just the other day. So, what have the Deacons been up to all these months?
Well, we are always busy every Sunday with Coffee Fellowship as we feed the
physical bodies of the congregation. During other months we focus on
strengthening our Faith Foundation through Spiritual Development and discerning
where God wishes us to use our gifts in His ministries. This is a process that
goes on constantly and we all need to be active in this during our lives.
The Deacons would like to thank the individuals
who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of October.
The Deacons are aware there are others who do not
sign up on the list, but contribute. We at this time would like to thank you
all.
Take care and know that God is with you always!
Wayne Hiroshima/Vice Moderator
