All Of Us, Together.

Dear Pali Pres Family,

I know I’m a bit biased, but I am still on a “high” from last Sunday’s worship service. The ordination and installation of officers…the touching and uplifting music… God’s timeless word to us from Micah 6… the recognition and celebration of the Martin Luther King holiday… I really felt the powerful Spirit of God on Sunday and hope all of you did too!

As we fully launch ourselves into this new year, I again encourage us to ask what God’s powerful Spirit is calling us to be a part of here at Pali Pres. Or to use language from Micah, what the Lord is “requiring of us” as his people. We have just ordained and installed new elders and deacons into the leadership of Pali Pres, and we are incredibly grateful for their willingness to serve and share their God-given talents with our church. However, we are mistaken if we think the work of the church is only done by our lay leaders or pastors. It takes all of us to do the Lord’s work. It takes all of us to maintain and grow the ministries of Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, it takes all of us, together, to be the Body of Christ! To quote from our Presbyterian Book of Order, “Ordered ministries are gifts to the church to order its life so that the ministry of the whole people of God may flourish. The existence of these ordered ministries in no way diminishes the importance of the commitment of all members to the total ministry of the church.”

Indeed, the commitment of all the members to the total ministry of the church is so important. That is why I am so very grateful for the many people who serve, in a variety of capacities, here at Pali Pres. Be it by serving on a committee, or by helping maintain our beautiful church grounds, or by praying for our church and our world, or by giving their time and money… all these contributions (and many others!) are vital to the building up of the Body of Christ.

May God’s powerful Spirit continue to bless us here at Pali Pres in 2023. And may we each continue to be led by the Spirit to serve our church and our world, dedicating all our energies and contributions to the glory of God.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Matt