Pastor's Pen - July 5, 2018

Psalm 90:13-17

Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands—O prosper the work of our hands! 

Greetings from Pastor Dan! In a couple of days our high schoolers will be departing for the yearly mission trip, joined by myself and a small cadre of adult volunteers from our church family. We depart at noon Saturday the 7^th, and all are welcome to come send us off. Along with faith formation and fellowship, our goal is labor for the benefit of those who need it most in the communities we will be serving. We will be building and painting and fixing and carrying and many other things besides, all while worshipping in community and engaging in faith discovery and conversation. It’s a powerful experience for youth and adults alike, and as exhausted and overheated as we will no doubt end the week, God will give us the strength to go on, as always. 

We move from a day of rest and celebration to days of shouldering the burden of God’s work. God willing our youth will come out of it with a better sense of the needs of this world and the role we can all play in seeing that no one struggles alone. I encourage everyone we leave behind in York and elsewhere to keep that spirit alive yourselves. Keep your eyes open for ways you can help those in need, and for those opportunities God puts in your path to do God’s work. It’s getting hotter every day, and every bit of shade helps. 

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands.

Prayer:Eternal Taskmaster, guide and protect our youth as they journey in Your name, and manifest Your will through all our work. Amen