October 12, 2022

Dear friends,

This upcoming Sunday, we are going to have our celebration Sunday, where we are encouraging people to bring in their pledge cards and making a financial commitment to Embry Hills United Methodist Church and its ministries. I like to call it a Celebration Sunday because that is how I see it.

I studied abroad in Scotland, and while I was there, I had two classes. I am not honestly sure how I pulled off what I did, but by some academic credit arithmetic, I only had two classes and it counted for 18 hours of credit. Needless to say, I had a lot of free time.

So, being an athlete, I joined a lot of teams, particularly the random sports, at least for me. One of them was Cricket. I showed up on the first day and had no idea about any of the rules of the game. At least when I played frisbee and volleyball over there I knew the basic rules, but with Cricket I was flying completely blind. So, the team still let me play, and they put me in a basic position and told me what to do. I wanted to do well, but now knowing how to do anything, I really struggled. I was getting very down on myself until one of my teammates explained what cricket is. He said cricket is a game of celebration. It is all about celebrating every small thing. Get a hit and yell like it's the greatest hit to ever happen. Same if you get an out, make a catch, or throw it the wrong way…whatever happens, celebrate it as if it’s the greatest thing on earth. He was right, and by adjusting to that attitude I not only had a lot more fun, but I played better (I think, I still don’t understand the rules).

This Sunday, when we bring in our pledge cards or fill it out online to communicate with the church our commitment to giving in 2023, it is a cause to celebrate. Because we have prayerfully and thoughtfully had our discussions and looked at the impact of our church. It is an opportunity to be a part of something with our faith community and with our neighbors. So, it is a cause to celebrate, because of the steps of faith people are going to be making. To help us celebrate, Rev. Dr. John Simmons is coming to preach. Some of you may remember Dr. Simmons when he was starting his long and successful ministry by being an associate minister at Embry Hills. It will be good to see him, and he will help us celebrate. I look forward to being with you on Sunday and celebrating together.

Peace,

Jordan