There is a reason we are all in this church thing together! There are times when we just need the wisdom of others, the strength of others, the vision of others, the faith of others.
I have been reminded of that recently. It seems that every day the news brings more bad economic news. To be honest, we don’t need the news to inform us. We realize that every time we go to fill up our cars, when we buy a gallon of milk, or a loaf of bread. And those little things ripple throughout our lives. I am now bringing my lunch to the office a lot more frequently, because it saves gas! (Good for the environment too!) We find that we have to make decisions about where we will spend our smaller-than-it-used-to-be discretionary funds.
That impacts our charitable giving. Inside you will see that our giving is currently running behind both the budget and expenses. We are still ahead of where we were this time last year, but just by a bit. So the Finance Committee met last week to take a look at where we are and what we should do.
And I was moved by their faith and their commitment! Once again they said that this congregation has said this is what we feel called to do and we shouldn’t limit that calling. They said they believed that this congregation would rise to the challenge and do what we have said we will do. Their faith strengthened mine!
I had the opportunity to eat lunch with Charles Taylor and Welton Gaddy last month. Welton is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Alliance and Charles was his professor and tennis coach at Union University. As I listened to their conversation I reminded of the depth of wisdom that we have in this congregation—the insight, the knowledge—that many times we fail to appreciate. This lunch was just one reminder. They happen in committee meetings, in hallway conversations, in emails that open me to a dimension of our world that I often do not recognize.
This month we are going to be concentrating our attention on how God is calling us to minister to our world. Providence Cares this Saturday is one way for us to put hands and feet to our commitment to our community. On Wednesday nights we will be hearing about opportunities that may have our name written all over it! Woody will be leading us on May 7 as we see where God is calling us—as individuals and maybe as a congregation. I hope you will be here to listen, to learn, to do. That kind of commitment strengthens mine!
See, I need this congregation! I need you to remind me of my promises to God, to you, to myself. Thank you for being here for me! Thanks for being here for each other! The theological term is incarnation—putting our faith to action, to make it alive. That is what this church thing is all about!


Dr. Don Flowers Jr., Pastor
don@providencecharleston.org