“When you wake up every day, you have two choices.” Harvey MacKay
Dear friends,
A couple of days after Easter I came across this quote from Harvey MacKay, the famous business leader and author. He has been an inspiration to many through the years, and this particular quote jumped out at me after my Easter message that referenced our choices when we wake up each day.
Now, MacKay was not talking about choosing between God and the world, but he was offering sound advice on how we should live our lives. The complete quote is, “When you wake up every day, you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative; an optimist or a pessimist. I choose to be an optimist. It is all a matter of perspective.”
As we move into the concluding two months of the Spring of 2025, we each have many choices to make every day. One choice that so many people have made over the years is to provide volunteer time to our church! St. Paul’s continues to thrive because folks step up and give their time for the benefit of others in the name of God and Jesus Christ!
As April concluded, we had a team packaging and handing out chicken barbecue dinners to friends and strangers. It took volunteers to “advertise” our chicken barbecue to their friends and family members. Shepherd’s Farm residents only knew about St. Paul’s delicious chicken barbecue because Joyce stepped up to spread the word!
Janet Brown’s family benefited from a group of St. Paul’s women who came in on a Saturday morning to make sure that Hickman Hall was ready to receive the family’s guests who were celebrating our beloved Janet’s life.
Holy Week saw so many St. Paul’s members stepping up to serve as disciples on Maundy Thursday, to run our audio-visual system, to sing in the choir, and to decorate the church. Of course, there was the wonderful Palm Sunday breakfast that raised almost $900—that succeeded because of volunteers.
Our awesome and incredible Food Pantry depends on volunteers to feed the hungry in our community. On Easter morning Todd and Crystal joined us for worship, so thankful for the many individuals of St. Paul’s who voluntarily provided food and love to them and Shiloh this winter.
In the coming weeks and months we will need more volunteers. We need volunteers to serve as church leaders and to carry out our programs. St. Paul’s will only continue to be strong if we grow, and that takes volunteers willing to ask family and friends to come to church.
When I was young there was a popular song from Marvin Gaye named ‘It Takes Two.’ The lyrics go, “One can have a dream … you can make that dream so real. It takes two, baby …me and you!”
That sums up what makes church work and succeed. Strong faith and then two or more folks having a dream and making it happen. Me and you!!!
Let me or Dave Fish or another church leader know how you want to help make St. Paul’s a stronger church for the future. God has gifted all of us with talent and abilities whatever our age, so start thinking what you can do for God through our little church in West Deptford.
Blessings,
Pastor Dave