Dear members and friends of Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church,
Moments of thanksgiving
I would like to take a moment to thank Peter, Don, and Bill for organizing men’s breakfasts, for their serving hearts and hands. I have attended two breakfasts and have really enjoyed the atmosphere, culture, and flow of the fellowship they have created and fostered. Not to mention I was impressed by Don’s dishwashing skills and Peter’s food delivery skills. The testimony that Chris shared during the last breakfast added another dimension to our shared experiences. When one shares his/her life openly, I think we experience the uniting presence of the Risen Christ.
I would like to thank Christianne, Nenad, and Marta for switching and decorating two classrooms in the church. Due to the sanctuary issue, we had to be creative with the church space. They spent hours buying items, moving, and reorganizing furniture between different rooms. Their work allowed the church to provide a better space for the younger children and their families during Sunday morning worship hours.
I would also like to thank Carolyn and Robert for helping us connect with our community friends through the weekly Tidbits and the church websites (home page, YouTube, Facebook). I cannot thank them enough for their patience (accepting my very late submission) and wisdom (editing skill and creativity they possess).
Prayer Group
Every day I have been asking: How do I deepen my prayer life? How can I be more intentional about my relationship with Christ each day? A few weeks ago, I had conversations about prayers with two congregation members, and it became clear that I was not the only one who was hungry to deepen our prayer life with God. When two or three gather and pray together, we deepen our prayer. So we are about to start a small prayer group. Our first small gathering will be held at the church on Thursday, November 25, at 1PM.
There will be two parts in each meeting:
1) To learn more about prayer
To learn more about prayer, we will be studying different books. For the first few meetings, we will be reading Joan Chittister’s “the Breath of the soul.” (I have ordered 5 copies of the book. If you would like to get hold of the book, please let me know). There will be many moments of silence, reading, listening, and sharing.
2) To share our prayer
It is not our hope to say a lengthy prayer but simply have time to share a simple prayer in our hearts. It could be one simple sentence, “I am thinking about my family today.” Or “I am praying for the future of our congregation. ”
As we spend more time together, we hope to help each other to deepen our love for Christ.
Sincerely,
Chuck Moon
A version of this message first appeared in the Saturday, November 20, 2021, edition of Tidbits.