May 2017 Pastor's Letter

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
- Ephesians 2:8-9 NRSV
Of all the people I have ever met, Sharon Jones is probably the most gracious. She exudes acceptance and love and understanding with every word and action. If you are invited to her home for dinner, it won't be like any dinner you've ever had. It will be a dinner which seems to be just for you even though there are other guests. If she and her husband, Hoagie, come to your home, she will bring a spirit of joy that is infectious and makes you wonder why you don't do this more often. And she will bring chocolate!

We recently hosted Sharon and Hoagie for dinner a couple of weeks after Gayle began her four month "furlough" from her chemotherapy. We were a little hesitant because Gayle was still pretty weak. But we kept it simple and everything came together.

Sharon and Hoagie arrived with smiles (and chocolate) and we had a lovely evening. During the table conversation we learned Sharon had spent the day in Knoxville helping her sister and brother-in-law prepare for moving into their new condo. But she said, "I told Hoagie we would be here no matter what because if Gayle felt good enough to do this we had to support that. There was no way to know when she might feel good enough in the future." Sharon has been through chemotherapy. She understands how it affects you in every way. She knows that being able to do something, anything, that you want to do is a blessing.

We are studying grace on Wednesday nights at 6:15 p.m. In our first session we began to realize that grace is a verb as well as a noun. It is an attribute of God (noun) but it is revealed by His actions (verb) in sending Christ and us into the world. It can be expressed in a simple prayer before a meal that we call "grace", but it is also expressed in simple actions which reveal compassion and concern for others. Grace can be as simple as letting the frustrated mom shopping with one or more unruly kids step in line ahead of you. It can be as involved as sitting with someone who is homebound so their caregiver can rest or leave the house for a while. Grace is the attitude of God's heart that says, "I understand. I love you and I will help if you will let me."

So join us for the study of grace and more importantly share the grace of Christ with others. And don't forget the chocolate! - Dr. Phil

A LOOK AHEAD
Sunday, May 14 - Rev. Astor Simpson will be our pulpit guest for Mother's Day.
Sunday, May 21 - Rev. Philip Lotspeich, General Presbyter, Transylvania Presbytery will
be our guest for the morning service. Rev. Lotspeich began his service as General Presbyter in January. This will be his first visit to our church.