Ascension Sunday/7th of Easter

Thank you to: Mary for greeting; Liz for playing the organ; Gavin and his Mum for lighting the candles; Sage and Sydney [and Grandma] for presenting the offering and Frances for reading.

The gospel reading this week : Jesus prays for the disciples and future believers that all would be one in Him and the Father. He wanted them unified as a powerful witness to the reality of God's love.
First, each person needs to believe and live in union with God themselves.We can stregthen our union by praying, reading the Bible and spending time with God each day. This unity comes through divine action, not human achievement. Do our words and actions reflect our union with God?
Jesus' desire was that His disciples become one. So now, we look at Emmanuel Church [ a group of believers] When one thinks of being one, we may think we should all be the same in thoughts, actions and ideas.... like cloned. What amazing diversity of grifts and talents we have at Emmanuel! God loves diversity. We began as an individual in unity with God and now have a faith family in unity with God.There is no separation from divine love for those who believe.This unity is for ALL believers .... not just for Anglicans, United or any other denominations!
We looked at the six goals for our southern region and analyzed them to see which ones encourage unity with each other and with God.
To encompass ALL believers, let us continue to reach out to all in our community. May OUR words and actions reflect God's love. Will those we meet beleive they have seen the face of God in us? May we, as believers, be a unified powerful witness to the reality of God's love. Check out Hymn 402 in Voices United.