Outreach in 2021

Firstly I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year! I hope that this New Year brings happiness and peace to each of you, your families and loved ones. The other day I was reflecting on 2020 with Frank and we said just how challenging last year was to the normal life of the church. One of the beautiful things about the very serious challenges that 2020 presented was in a sense that COVID-19 stripped away so much of what we thought made us who we are. The festivities and activities even the use of our space. Don’t get me wrong, these things are indeed a part of who we are and how we live out our Christian life together, but when all of these things were taken from us, what was left?

What we have seen and experienced is that St. David’s Church is a church that is defined by our outreach. We are defined by how we care for one another and for those in our wider community who need help or a steady hand to help keep in balance. St. David’s church is a church that shows up and keeps showing up. It is truly a beautiful thing to watch and to be a part of. You all teach me so much about what it means to be a loving supportive presence in other people’s lives, and I thank you very much for who you all are and all that you do.

There is still much ahead of us that God has yet to reveal. So what will outreach look like for 2021? I believe that 2021 will be a year to listen. This will be a year to listen to how God is moving in our community and in the world. 2021 will be a year to be responsive to how the spirit is calling us all to act! 2021 will be the year we welcome our Lord Jesus Christ to move in our lives and to use us to His glory. Listening and responding is tricky business, it has to be rooted in deep prayer above all else. We must hear when God is calling us to act, perhaps in ways that are familiar to us, but perhaps in ways that we couldn’t have ever possibly imagined.

I’m calling outreach in 2021 a year of being “Called into Action!” I want to invite you all to join me in listening to God. And as God calls us to act, I want to encourage you all to keep showing up and allowing God to use us! Together with God we can change people lives and in turn change this world for the better.

You are all in my prayers.

Sincerely,
The Rev. Maurice Dyer