Cheerful Meetings

 Link for this week's live-streamed service is here.

I attended four very different "meetings" at church this week. The first, on Wednesday was Bible Study, the second, on Thursday, was a district lunch for parishioners on Joan and Janet's elders list, the third, on Thursday was choir practice, while the fourth, on Sunday was the much delayed Annual Congregational meeting. 

The Wednesday and Thursday meetings were marked by much laughter. I know, not everyone associates laughter with Bible Study, but at SPPC we've thrown out the "dour Presbyterian" label. Listening to, learning from, and sharing a laugh with each other is a hallmark of our study, whatever the topic. We have two more sessions on the Letter of James, if you want to come along on a Wednesday.

The Thursday lunch included lots of food, conversation and more laughter.  There was plenty of head scratching as well. We were given a gardening quiz with 20 questions. The highest score was 12. 

 We did much better on the general knowledge questions with answers like Albert Einstein, Pamela Anderson, J. F. Kennedy and Walt Disney.  (You had to be there.😕)

Since the lunch had been originally scheduled for Christmas, we all got presents, one for Christmas and one for spring. 

 

Thank you Joan and Janet.

Also on Thursday, the choir met. We're a small but dedicated band, who find joy in making music together. Practices are not as efficient as they might be because they are punctuated with much laughter. We sing praise to God with cheerful hearts.

The Sunday meeting was the Annual Congregational Meeting. Those with a long history in the church often groan at the mention of the ACM. Admittedly, they can be tedious. But we zipped through the business portion with alacrity. Voted yes on Session's recommendations and said thank you to dozens of people who  helped out at SPPC during 2022. There was even a laugh as we discussed the financial review.

Mary Poppins sang "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."

The Bible says: Psalm 126:2: “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’”

In every moment of our lives, we witness to Christ's love for us. Let us reflect His love with joy.