This and That
(from here and there, every now and then)

In preparation for a presentation at Annual Conference, Dave Haynes, our District Lay Leader, asked me what five words would describe our District best. I went deep into my experiences of the past two years I have been with you, the places and faces that have touched my journey and my faith these few years, and I came up with the following: green, grand, grace, growth, and gratitude.

The verdant carpet laid upon the rice fields of Glenn Colusa counties, acres and acres of safflowers and sunflowers, the towering and majestic redwoods and pine trees of the northern counties, the olive groves of Corning and Orland, the many orchards of walnuts and peaches and many other nuts and fruits, the vineyards of Lake county and many more describe a verdant paradise where God must indeed be present.

The vastness of the District (it takes me, for example, seven hours to drive to Smith River from Chico), the magnificent Shasta, Lassen, Black Butte, and other mountains, the century old grand Sequoias, the lakes and rivers teeming with all kinds of fish all point to the greatness of a wonderful God who has made this District “a place of Holy Mystery” where God is, indeed, at work among the people.

The over-much-ness of God’s grace is undeniably evident not only in nature (the agricultural products coming from this area, for example, can supply the needs of millions of people) but also in the lives of people and communities. The Good News proclaimed in the pulpits within our churches by our Pastors and beyond the walls of our churches by all of Christ’s disciples through their lives and relationships attests to that amazing grace - the sound of which is refreshingly sweet.

The Shasta District is a frontier of mission where growth and exciting possibilities invite us to dream dreams and see visions. The housing developments in cities like Yuba and Arbuckle and Williams and many others point to a growth in population that presents an invitation to evangelism - the sharing of the Good News of the Gospel that Jesus came that we might have life, abundant here and now and eternal hereafter. The invitation is to grow our churches in its mission in the world.

When I visit churches I never fail to see and to hear in the lips and the lives of our people expressions of genuine and profound gratitude. This attitude of grace leads to life and relationships shaped by hospitality, reverence, humility, and joy. Might we, in some significant way, indeed, be preparing for the coming of the Kin-dom of God?