904 Washington St SE, Olympia, WA 98501
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Blessed be the name of the Lord, Creator of the heavens and the earth!
Blessed be God’s name!
Within our Christian tradition, the phrase Blessed be “His” name/Blessed be God’s name expresses reverence, praise, and gratitude toward God.
It’s easy to say. It falls off our tongues/slips out of our mouths, without much thought.
But think about it: Reverence – Praise – Gratitude! How we think about God; how we relate to God; how we communicate with God are expressed in those three words.
Not limited to those three words, but recognizing that they are a foundation of the various ways that God pours out blessings upon us and others and how we respond once we recognize and acknowledge those blessings.
People will ask me how I am feeling and/or doing after my little journey with Cornelius.
My response is and will be: BLESSED!
I am blessed because though the type of cancer I had was rare, it was not aggressive and it was slow growing. Blessed. The location of Cornelius within my lung was easily accessible on the lower edge of my left lung, so they only had to take small wedge out. If Cornelius had been in the center or upper part, I’d be missing a pretty significant part of that left lung, and my recovery and outlook would be quite different than it is: Blessed. Amazingly, I do not have to endure any kind of Chemo and/or radiation treatments: Blessed.
For the six weeks that I have been recovering and recuperating, the Rev. Joan Friesen has filled in as Acting Pastor. She has guided our faith community collaboratively, faithfully, with her leadership that is Spirit-driven, organizationally first rate, and relationally, grace-filled: Blessed. And then there’s you all, the congregation; this collection of ragamuffins here on the corner of 9th and Washington. You have worked with Rev. Joan to continue your mission and ministry of hospitality, relational connection and spiritual nurturing. You have come together to bear witness to the strength of a Christ-led community within a world that is deeply divided. You have prayed for one another, encouraged one another, ministered to one another, and served one another, and others. I know, because you have done all of those things for Kathleen and I while I’ve been away: Blessed!!!
When I say, “blessed be God’s name,” I want to make sure I remember that the foundation behind those words are reverence, praise, and gratitude. It’s the way of our prayers; our un-derstanding that God works and moves in ways that are much more different than our own…and being okay with that. It’s about trust. First and foremost in this relational God, whose image webear, and with whom we discover the various ways we are blessed because of our relationship with God through the Resurrected Son, Jesus Christ. You see. Despite the barri-ers we might find before us…whatever the current circumstances of our lives may be, there are still blessings, small though they may seem, that are yet to be discovered and recognized. When that happens, then it’s much easier to say:
Blessed be God’s name!
And to do so with reverence, praise, and gratitude!
Blessings and Joy!
Humble over Hype!
Pastor Mark
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It’s good to be back. I hope you are planning to join us for worship on October 5th! We will gather around the Lord’s Table for Communion and I will be back in the pulpit. We look forward to having you all together, both in person or on the live-stream. Don’t forget that we are hosting the Evergreen Annual Gathering from Thursday, October 9th through Saturday, October 11th. There will be worship both Friday and Saturday nights at 7:00 p.m. If you would like to participate but not as part of the volunteer staff, please talk to Pastor Mark about registering on the Region’s website. If you want to be a part of that event’s volunteer group, there are slots available. See Rev. Joan, Jan Downen, and/or Meggin Turk ASAP!
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