From Our Minister – Karen Ptolemy-Stam

This week is National Volunteer Appreciation  week. There is a song  that says, “The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is it’s people.” You and I are the church. We come together for the work and ministry of Christ which calls us to love God, ourselves, and others. It is a community of faith that seeks to make a difference in the world and in our own lives. The church is dependent on the people who are part of this community. It is a vision that Jesus had. It is not a corporation or an institution. It is real people reaching out from a set of values that are based in spiritual ideals of love, compassion, justice and working for peace.

St.  Paul’s is dependent on the gifts each one brings to contribute to the larger good in the name of our God. Our volunteers give of their time, talents and wisdom serving on various committees, serving coffee, visiting others, hammering nails, shovelling snow, sharing faith with children and youth, writing grant proposals, assisting with worship and congregational life events, gardening. The list goes on and on and on. Some of our volunteers are quite visible, while others are behind the scenes counting our offering, making phone calls, baking cookies, getting estimates and having conversations with contractors.

We truly appreciate every minute and moment that you share of your time. A huge thank you to all of you who make St. Paul’s the church that it is. We are the church. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to all who have rsvp’d and will joining us for the dinner that we have been advertising for weeks. It is a chance to say thank you and to celebrate the work and ministry of Christ in this place.