Greetings in Christ!
Whenever I sit down to write the “From the Pastor’s Desk,” I always ask myself, what is significant for the upcoming month? And of course, this is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving! When I think of giving thanks, I often think of the movie, Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney about the life of George M Cohan. He would always conclude their act with the words, “My mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you.”
There isn’t much I want to say about the celebration of Thanksgiving in these words. I would rather take this time to say thank you to all who are involved in making Hudson First UMC the amazing church that it is. I am not going to mention names because I wouldn’t be able to fit it all on this one page, and I would inevitably, although accidentally, leave someone out.
First and foremost, thanks be to God and the Lord, our savior Jesus Christ. Without the Lord, we would be nothing and have nothing. But in Him, we have everything, through salvation. Thank you to all of our committee leaders. You do so much and for so little in return. Thank you to all the committee members for your time and efforts. Thank you to Lay Servants. Your help to myself and the service to the church is beyond words. Thank you to the music leaders, who help make the services 100 times more beautiful and heartfelt. Thank you to all who sing in our choir. Thank you to the people who do coffee hour. What else is there to say besides, cookies, donuts and coffee. Nuff said! Thank you to the ushers who pass the microphone, bring the offering forward, and generally watch over our congregation during the services. Thank you. Thank you to the ones who help prepare and serve communion. It means more to me than you know. Thank you to those who bring flowers. Those little thoughts add a touch of heaven.
Thank you to the ladies of the UWF for your education, expanding our appreciation for diversity, and bringing joy to the community, and more! Thank you to the money counters. It can be a complicated and tedious task, especially fighting the copy machine. Thank you to the leaders of Bible Studies. I believe it is as important as having the worship service itself. Thank you to the Secretary to the Pastor. Being my wife, I can say you are beautiful, talented, and amazing. Thank you to those who help clean and maintain the church building and property. Thank you to those who manage the upkeep of the church and parsonage. Thank you to those who help with funeral dinners and other food events. Thank you to those who lead VBS and all who volunteer. Thank you to all who lead and help with ministries such as the backpack program and the mitten tree. Thank you to those who help with special worship services.
And finally, but not at all least, thank you to all who assemble at the church to worship the Lord. Your presence is an absolute joy. If I forgot anyone, I deeply apologize, and to you I say, thank you!
Peace and blessings always!
Pastor Brian
First United Methodist Church, Hudson, MI 