Serve God by word, worship and action
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Welcome to Immanuel Baptist Church!
We are spiritually rich and well as we joyously welcome our new pastor, Rev. Rachel McGuire.
Contact Rev. McGuire at pastor@immanuelrochester.org
November Reach Out Message
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; and with gratitude in your hearts sing hymns, and spiritual songs to God. Colossians 3:16
As I open my back door this morning my eyes are struck with a cascade of deep purple morning glories, pouring over the fence and reaching for the dawn sun. The dappled pink and golden light is magical as it peeks through misty clouds and dances over the leaves and flowers. I confess I do not see dawn too often! You may have guessed that I am a night owl. But this morning I am blessed with this experience of God’s creation, this beautiful moment of living and breathing and having my being, in all its “glory” and my heart is full of gratitude.
As we head into November and Thanksgiving, I have gratitude on my mind. I am grateful for many things these days, not the least of which is God’s calling me to serve you. I love the moment when we gather in communion and sing: “Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One.”
When I was living in Toronto I met a woman named Mary Jo Leddy who lives and works with refugees in Romero House Community. She has written a book called
Radical Gratitude. In it, she says: “What we say with our words is so much less important than what we mean with our lives. Only our lives give weight to our words.” She goes on to say:
We are held captive by our cravings and by a sense that we are powerless to effect any fundamental change in the world about us. No amount of moralizing about the millions of starving people on this earth or self-conscious exhortations about the virtues of the simple life will break the force and direction of this craving. Liberation from the craving that holds us captive will have to come from a more fundamental shift of attitudes. It is only radical gratitude that will liberate us from this bind. (p.10-11)
Leddy suggests to us that ingratitude is a form of captivity. She helps us to see that our engagement in the world for God’s justice, if it is to be powerful, cannot come from guilt, but, rather, must flow naturally from joy – from our genuine astonishment and gratitude for life. So I wish you joy!
And I wish each you a life-transforming and world-transforming Thanksgiving.
Your Pastor,
Rev. Rachel McGuire