The first month of the New Year is a busy time in the church office, as we close out the financial records and the membership records of the church. It is also a time when reports from Ministry Teams are finalized and sent to the church office for inclusion in our Annual Report booklet.

For those of us who prefer to look forward in anticipation, taking time to look back and wrap up sometimes requires a bit more effort. While we should always be open to the new places where God is calling us next, it is also important to take time and name those experiences and events where we have seen God at work among us and through us in the past year.

I read recently, that Howard Thurman, a professor at Boston University, sat down at the beginning of each new year and wrote down his understanding of the nature of God. Then he would compare that new journal entry with the one he had written the previous year. If he could not identify any change in his understanding and experience of the nature of God and if he did not detect growth he would be disappointed and consider the previous year a waste! While I might feel disappointment if nothing new had occurred in my relationship with God, I’m not sure that I would go so far as to say it was a waste, for I believe that God is at work beyond our understanding and effort.

In some ways, our Annual Meeting and our Annual Reports serve a similar purpose of evaluation. In this past year I have experienced God at work in our times of worship, in our ministry of outreach and service. Times of prayer and discernment in the visioning process have been especially powerful, as we have sought God’s guidance in designing our ministry to reflect Christ’s presence in all we do. Here are a few ways I have seen God at work in our life together as Prairie Church, during the past year:

There are many other ways that God has been at work among us in the past year. The Annual Report booklet is available for you to read the complete reports of the pastors’ and of the Ministry Teams. This booklet is available on a table in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday’s and in the office during the week. Pick up your copy!

The statistical reports are also included in the booklet. The good news is that we paid all of our expenses in 2003, with a modest amount of cash left at year-end. This includes the payment of our “apportionments”; a denominational asking that provides mission and administration in the larger church. Our membership reports show a modest increase of 5 members over the past year! Membership at the beginning of 2004 is: 492 confirmed members. The numbers serve as a kind of barometer for how things are going.

It is a joy to be in ministry with you and with our wonderful church staff. May we trust God’s guidance in this New Year as we seek to be the Body of Christ to each other and to the world.

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Mike Miller

Soup Supper (5:30 to 6:30 p.m.)

Intergenerational Activities and Worship (6:30 p.m.)