A Thanksgiving Gratitude List

Dear MRC Family,

Pentecost blessings to you on this last Sunday of Ordinary Time and the liturgical year

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1.3-5)

I thank my God — it’s that simple, yet so heart-felt

As we will soon celebrate Thanksgiving and then go directly into the Season of Advent Wonder, yes, I am grateful for —

God’s mercy, grace and love that I am given each day
My spouse who loves me to the moon and back
The support and love of my family who is always there, no matter what
The privilege of serving God and you
The wizardry of our always-in-the-church-office financial team
The dedication and faithfulness of our Children and Youth team and parents
The talent of our Director of Music, Tom, and the choir
The new covenant of friendship with the Community Church of Keyport and Holmdel Community United Church of Christ as we do outreach together
The unwavering commitment of our Pride Committee who makes sure our community knows we welcome, affirm, and celebrate our LGBTQ+ siblings
Our Buildings & Grounds team that keeps our property safe and humming along
Our Worship Committee who always strives to make our worship meaningful, relevant, and honoring of God
The Garden Group who builds, plants, tends, and harvests because we believe we are called to love and feed one another
The fabulous cooks who have been serving the good people at the Bayshore Lunch Program for over 10 years now
The Consistory for their support of me, and their love of God and our church
The people who make sure we go live on our YouTube channel each and every Sunday, and for those of you who watch and follow us on Facebook
Our community partners who share our space with us —The Middletown Arts Center, the Saturday Night Live Alcoholics Anonymous group, the Brownies Troop, the Middletown Woman’s Club, the Middletown Lions Club
And for so many of you who contribute your time and talents to the church. Some may not see what you do, but I do

Truly, I could go on, adding thanks for food in our refrigerator, shelter over our heads, heat, health insurance, all of my critters . . .  Have you made a Thanksgiving gratitude list? What and who would be on yours? 

One thing you may have noticed missing in the above list is there were no major building upgrades or projects as we have done in the past. This is because, to put it quite frankly, we simply have not been able to afford it. We had one major expense and this was the purchase of a new fire panel as the old one had failed. I am very grateful for the church members who donated to offset the costs!

Beloved, we are all aware that these are challenging times — economically, emotionally, and physically. I have given out so many ShopRite gift cards to people in need, and I thank you for your Deacons’ offerings that made this happen. (That could have been on the list above!) I know that you are experiencing in your day-to-day living that expenses have gone up, especially groceries, utilities and property/health insurance, while income has declined.

It is the same with our church.

Our utilities have been impacted as have our property insurance, to mention just a couple of things. Also, we are missing members who have experienced change in their lives, which has caused them to be unable to be a part of the church. Some of these changes in membership have an impact on our tithing income. And so, partly due to that, we are running at a deficit for the year. The Consistory and I have taken a close look at our budget for 2026 to determine where we can cut costs in order to be good stewards of God’s money.

I offer this information not to cause you concern but in order to be fully transparent, as I promised I would always be. That said, as you are able, the Consistory and I would be exceedingly grateful if you would prayerfully consider making a Thanksgiving offering in addition to your regular offering to the General Fund. We ask this in order that MRC will continue to be a presence in our community, offering God’s transformative love and grace to all whom the Holy Spirit sends our way. Please remember you may donate safely and securely online at www.mrchurch.us/give.   

I look forward to welcoming you to worship this Reign of Christ Sunday as we give thanks for our servant-king Jesus. Tom is leading us in our hymns and will sing the Anthem “King of My Heart." In addition, our Youth are helping to lead worship and Emma Hertzog and Brenner Larson will be our liturgists and the New Jericho Choir will sing two songs — “The Jesus Way” and “Did You Ever Talk to God Above?” I am preaching from Jeremiah 29.4-14 and Revelation 21.1-5 and my sermon title is Imagine a World — What world will you imagine with God? Also, I have our Consistory nominating form to give to you, so be thinking of who you would like to nominate to serve on Consistory next year. We will be electing two Deacons and two Elders for 2026. Voting ends November 30. If you are unable to be in person, we will be streaming live on our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@mrcafabulouschurchoflove1611.

Keep following and bothering Jesus, beloved. And may you have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving.

With gratitude and thankfulness and joy for the privilege of being your pastor and the holy call of loving you,

Pastor Trish