Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Merry Christmas


As we reflect on this year, we are very thankful for the ways in which Christ connects us with each other and with God the Father.  Looking around our church on Sunday mornings we are black, white, Asian, Hispanic, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, young, old, life-time New Orleanian and newcomer. The one thing that connects us all is Christ. 
 
We are thankful for God's Word that connects us to Him and guides us through life. We are thankful for the ways in which our works of mercy and compassion have connected our church to the neighborhood and created an awareness that God is at work.  We are thankful for the gift of prayer and how it has allowed us to know that God hears us and cares for us in very specific ways this year.  We are thankful for the ways in which our faith connects us with others within our denomination, other local churches, the Church throughout the country and the invisible Church throughout the world. 
 
This Christmas season, we are thankful for the way in which God, through the life and sacrifice of Christ, made it possible to reconnect us with Him.  We are thankful that  "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
 
We are thankful for the ways in which God has connected us with each of you.  We are thankful that He has allowed for His work, through St. Roch Community Church, to continue because of your commitment to us through your resources, prayers and labors. A majority of Church plants in well-resourced communities don't last past three years.  We'll be celebrating four years in February; something we don't take lightly.  We are thankful that God has seen it fit to use our church, a diverse, broken and weak body, to bring Him glory and to proclaim His amazing grace. 
 
As the the year comes to completion, we ask that you prayerfully consider giving a much needed year-end gift to help us finish strong and give us a solid foundation to start the new year.   
 
Gifts can be given online at www.strochcc.org or via Network for Good.  Gifts can also be mailed to:
St. Roch Community Church
1738 St. Roch Ave. 
New Orleans, L A 70117
 
Again, thank you for all the ways you supports St. Roch Community Church.
 
Merry Christmas,
 
Ben McLeish
Development Director

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