God is Great…..All the Time
The family of St. Columba has been blessed in so many ways over the years. We have been active in the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ from our North Palm Ave. location for over 50 years. A few years past members of this local congregation caught a vision of what the physical plant could look like and through sacrificial giving we have been able to build buildings that enhance our local ministry. Utilizing our buildings in the mission and ministry of Christ, we have continued to offer community recovery groups use of our community room. Our Christian Education program expanded into the new facilities well, and our excellent choir has a room for rehearsal. We have been able to expand our midweek offerings to include a regular Wednesday night prayer/food/teaching series.
This spring/summer we have already been blessed with a fantastic progressive dinner and picnic, gatherings of the church family. Time shared in each other’s company is not just a social event, but more important a sharing of Christian fellowship [that thing we promise to do when we recite the Baptismal Covenant, BCP pg. 304]. We strengthen each other when common concerns and joys are shared within the church family.
We also had a very successful Goshen Mission trip. Our youth & adults joined up with others from St. Paul’s Visalia and St. Phillips, Coalinga to work on a Hispanic Pentecostal church in need of repair. Concrete, stucco, electrical, paint, sheetrock, and construction of a portico improved the church building tremendously. This is not just a work project, it is a fulfillment of the promises made in the Baptismal Covenant to ‘seek and serve Christ in all persons’ [BCP 305]. Oh, and we will be back, more to do.
In July we have VBS. Our congregation’s opportunity to help our youngest members, and guests, understand the Love of Jesus [‘the Good News of God in Christ’…yeah, Baptismal Covenant again, BCP 305]. It is a delight to see so many children eager to hear and experience the love of Christ as offered by our local congregation.
In August we have our Family of God camp. Again, we will have Christian fellowship, prayers, and teaching. The facilities at Camp San Joaquin are beautiful and afford us the time to be close to God’s creation.
God has indeed Blessed us at St. Columba. Not because we ‘deserve it’, but rather because he Loves us and we have made the commitment to ‘Hear God’s call…Answer with Faith’.
God is Great..…All the Time
