St. Francisville UMC November 2017 Newsletter

FROM THE PASTOR
The other day, the church staff was having a friendly debate about the best places to get pizza in South
Louisiana. By the end of the conversation I was convinced I needed to try the "Pizza Man" in Covington
one day soon.
As I thought about this, I was reminded just how blessed we are. We not only have food on our plates,
but even have the means to get our favorite foods; we even have the means to travel and see new places,
and experience new things in our own state and beyond.
Not everyone has these luxuries.
In November we often are reminded to count our blessings, to give thanks to God for all we've been given.
Have you stopped to count them lately?
In churches, this is often "stewardship season" as well, when we remember that God shares all these
blessings with us for a strategic purpose: God has positioned each and every one of us in just the right
place and time so that we can come to know him, and also so that we can use our blessings to further the
mission of His church and to bless others.
It is in seeking to share blessings with others, that we truly grasp what "blessing" is all about. As the
Prayer of Saint Francis (number 481 in our Hymnal) says, "it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning
that we are pardoned...".
I hope you will celebrate with me this month all that God has given. I hope you'll also ask how God wants
you to use all these great gifts for the good of His mission.
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless and keep you+
-Rev. Daniel