I write this following Memorial Day when we as a country pause in observance and honor those that have served and given their lives to our country for us the people of the United States of America. In just a few weeks we will honor the anniversary of the forming of our country on July 4th with celebrations in our community and throughout the United States. While these holidays are secular and are not religious holidays, they are important parts of our lives, and I have traditionally recognized these holidays during the early portion of our worship services in appropriateness.
Every time we enter a church and worship there, we are putting ourselves in touch with the saints and the heroes and prophets and the Martyrs of the church and by extension our families, communities, and nation. We can say to ourselves, “I belong to the fellowship to which those who loved and died for their faith in every age and generation belonged.” When we sit in the seats of our churches, we can say to ourselves, “I am doing exactly what Jesus did with his disciples in the upper room so long ago.”
For the Christian, this contact with greatness is even more universal. We live in a world which is the work of God. The people surrounding us in our church, and all those we live with throughout our communities are all children of God.
The world in which we live is the great handiwork of God. Everywhere we go we can say, “Here is God.”
May God continue to bless and protect our places of worship, those who enter in and all of this nation and the world in which we live.
Live In Peace, Pastor Gary
Claybanks United Methodist Church 