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“Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12: 4-7)

One of my greatest joys since coming to Apostles has been getting to know individuals who worship and share in the  ministry we do here. God has blessed Apostles richly and abundantly, and this is especially true in the varieties of gifts which God has given to our congregation through the individual talents and motivations of our members. St. Paul is  very clear that he envisions each congregation as a manifestation of “the body of Christ,” enabled by God through the workings of the Holy Spirit to equip, create and enact real ministry in the name of Christ… essentially, to make Christ’s presence real in the life of the congregation and the community. Our great gift of God’s grace at baptism carries with it a calling to serve as part of this body of Christ to make Christ’s love known. Just as there are a variety of gifts present in our members’ talents, there are a variety of ways these talents might be used to serve our congregation’s ministry and share in the community of the faithful here at Apostles. Each way in which we serve blesses the body of Christ and fulfills a part of the promises made when membership vows are taken, either in Baptism, Confirmation or joining the congregation.

At our retreat this past June, the Congregation Council spent a good deal of time looking forward toward where the ministry of Apostles may lead and tasking the Ministry Teams with discerning goals and ways to reach these goals in the future. This will be an ongoing process which will be revealed from time to time by each Team’s initiatives and programming. As these efforts are brought forward, the entire congregation will have the opportunity to be involved in moving our ministry and service forward.

In addition, each Team was tasked with defining or re-defining those ministry opportunities through which individuals in our congregation may serve. Over the years, this has been known as Time and Talent surveys. The Teams have been working through the process of editing previous Time and Talent forms to pinpoint better the ways in which each  individual may use gifts or talents to share in the congregation’s ministry. In the month of October the Team’s will present these Time and Talent forms to the congregation along with brief Temple Talks at worship services, all designed to re-familiarize the congregation with the Team’s ongoing ministry and the opportunities individuals have to serve the congregation through that Team’s mission. The hope is that the congregation will hear these updates, see the important work each Team is doing and consider as individuals where you might be willing to serve by volunteering on the Time and Talent form and letting us know where your interest and talent meet God’s Spirit at work at Apostles.

St. Paul is very clear that as we receive God’s grace through Baptism and through the proclamation of the Word of God, we are graced also by God’s Holy Spirit with gifts, talents and time which we can use for the “common good.” As we move forward into the future, we greatly appreciate the talents of our members here at Apostles and look forward to the many ways, new and old, we can manifest God’s love in our ministry here. This can happen only with the generous service of our members who step forward to share of themselves through time and talent for the building up of the body of Christ. Please feel free to talk to our Council members or Team members about how we are moving forward in ministry, sharing your insights and questions. Also, please prayerfully consider how you might use the gifts God has given you to serve in the ministry and mission we share.