Hello, All.
Hard to believe I am writing you again on a Monday, but once again we were hit by a thief (or several thieves). Same MO. Smash the window of my office, rip some things apart, and start heading for the electronics of the building. There is blood evidence this time, which the Morgan City PD has collected.
There is nothing else much to tell, since about the only thing I see missing is another DVD player.
As I mentioned in the sermon yesterday, we worship a big-picture God. We, as the people of God, must not allow the things of this earth, such as the criminal element of society, rob us of our faith or our Christian attitude. Yes, it is very upsetting to have these things happen, but in the big picture of things these are but minor blips on the radar. Remember, even if they had cleaned us out completely, taking EVERYTHING in the building, we would STILL be the church. We would STILL be Easter people, raising our voices to proclaim the good news that absolutely NOTHING will discourage us or keep us from doing the work of God. Even if they take everything in the building, we still will gather for worship on Sunday, gathering as one to encounter God through Christ by the power of the Spirit. We will still engage in ministry to the community and to the world, along with each other.
All this being said, please know that I have spent the past week getting bids on an alarm system for the church, and by this time tomorrow night I will have signed a contract for the installation of a system to be done ASAP. Nothing will ever guarantee that this will not happen again, but we do take seriously our obligation to be good stewards of what God has given us, and this is a step in the right direction.
There are a lot of emotions that come forward at a time like this, but I urge you to remember that we are NOT going to be people who allow these sort of things to get the better of us. After all, we are a forward-looking people, not a backward-looking people.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Grace and Peace,
Lamar
P.S. Earlier today, I told several of you that one of the stolen items last night was my white stole. Tonight, it was found, blood-stained, in the back parking lot of the church facility. More about this later.
Hard to believe I am writing you again on a Monday, but once again we were hit by a thief (or several thieves). Same MO. Smash the window of my office, rip some things apart, and start heading for the electronics of the building. There is blood evidence this time, which the Morgan City PD has collected.
There is nothing else much to tell, since about the only thing I see missing is another DVD player.
As I mentioned in the sermon yesterday, we worship a big-picture God. We, as the people of God, must not allow the things of this earth, such as the criminal element of society, rob us of our faith or our Christian attitude. Yes, it is very upsetting to have these things happen, but in the big picture of things these are but minor blips on the radar. Remember, even if they had cleaned us out completely, taking EVERYTHING in the building, we would STILL be the church. We would STILL be Easter people, raising our voices to proclaim the good news that absolutely NOTHING will discourage us or keep us from doing the work of God. Even if they take everything in the building, we still will gather for worship on Sunday, gathering as one to encounter God through Christ by the power of the Spirit. We will still engage in ministry to the community and to the world, along with each other.
All this being said, please know that I have spent the past week getting bids on an alarm system for the church, and by this time tomorrow night I will have signed a contract for the installation of a system to be done ASAP. Nothing will ever guarantee that this will not happen again, but we do take seriously our obligation to be good stewards of what God has given us, and this is a step in the right direction.
There are a lot of emotions that come forward at a time like this, but I urge you to remember that we are NOT going to be people who allow these sort of things to get the better of us. After all, we are a forward-looking people, not a backward-looking people.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Grace and Peace,
Lamar
P.S. Earlier today, I told several of you that one of the stolen items last night was my white stole. Tonight, it was found, blood-stained, in the back parking lot of the church facility. More about this later.
