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Dear Friends,

Today we turn to November…my truly favorite month. It is time to give thanks to God for all of his blessing and bounty. I know that times have been filled with anxiety and worry, and that the larger story of our day is still very tenuous. But November makes us stop for a moment and give thanks to God for all things, and in all things.

Thanks for my country
Fran and I recently completed a trip overseas and, as lovely as Greece and Italy are, I could have kissed the ground when we landed in Chicago. (I refuse the kiss the jetway!) For all of our troubles in the country, this is the only place I’d want to live.

Thanks for my family
Our daughter, Taye, sent me a few pictures of our grandkids recently, we went trick-or-treating with our other set of grandkids, Fran spent the night with Liz in Austin a few days ago, and Daniel and I have been texting back and forth about career issues. Soon enough our family will all be together on Thanksgiving.

Thanks for our church
I drove home from church on Sunday with a heart filled with praise. I had been to all of our weekend services. I found each of them had their own life and vitality. I felt truly welcomed back from our trip. I had prayed that God would give me the words to preach a passage (Genesis 22) that scores a ’10’ as a degree of difficulty. And I made it out alive!

Thanks for the work that God allows me to oversee
Tomorrow I fly to Victoria, B.C., where I will speak to the Anglicans in Canada at their annual conference. While there, I will have the chance to speak boldly about God’s blessing on Anglican 1000.

Thanks for the men of Christ Church
This morning, we finished a two-week teaching on Sex, Lies, and the Gospel. The men were very attentive to the topic (of course!), and I was able to speak a word of hope and encouragement…and truth.

What about you? What are you thankful for this month?
It is time for our church to gather for a special Thanksgiving Eve Service on Wednesday, November 23, at 7 p.m. This is one of the highlights of the year for me. Hundreds of us gather together to ask for the Lord’s blessing. I really want you to be there. If you have out-of-town company, bring them!

See you Sunday!

David+

PS:  Here are some things you need to know.

1. Our staff said good-bye to Jill Kinsella this week. Jill was the Director of Communications at Christ Church for the past nine years. I am so very thankful for her work and her commitment to excellence over the years. She has taken a wonderful job back at her hometown where she will be surrounded by her family, get married, and work as the Director of Alumni Association for her Alma Mater. She will be missed, but she left a very strong legacy and a truly great communications team.  
    
2. Don’t forget Veteran’s Day weekend. We invite all military (active and retired) to come and allow us the privilege and honor of recognizing you and praying for you at the 9:15 and 11 a.m. service on November 13.  
    
3. We start a new series this week, The Evergreen Effect, one that I have been thinking and reading about for the past few months. What an opportune time to speak about biblical stewardship in an age of angst. Read Jeremiah 17:7-8 as our theme verse. I hope by the end of the third week, we will all have memorized it. Our small groups are studying the passage and sermon notes as well.  
    
4. And last, congratulations to our artist-in-residence, Josh Havens, and wife, Cara, on the birth of their fourth child, Owen, a handsome healthy boy, 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 21 in.

Dear Friends,

Clive Fernando makes a Thanksgiving outreach delivery.

Did you see the Fellowship Hall after church on Sunday? It was packed! Thanks to our staff and around 400 volunteers who made it happen, there are now 377 families in Collin County who can give thanks to God for a bountiful spread.  Go here to view a few more pictures from the outreach project.

Some of our new members who were welcomed this Sunday.

Also this weekend we welcomed a whole group of new members. They took the membership oath and we are so thankful that they are now part of the Christ Church family.

I have been very purposeful in my recent communication to our parish family concerning  this Wednesday. Our Thanksgiving Eve worship service will be an evening of remarkable joy. We have special music.  I am working on a message (short ) on thankfulness. I am also asking that any visiting soldiers in uniform come and be with us. Allow us please to give thanks to God for your service to our country and pray for your peace and protection in the times ahead. And to our congregation, please invite all active service personnel to attend at 7 p.m. tomorrow night.

Victory Over America
Speaking of our military, here ‘s a great story from our Children’s Ministry.  For Christmas 2009 the children sent cards to the troops in Iraq as a way to wish them a Merry Christmas. This fall, those same soldiers sent us back a flag that was flown on September 11, 2010 over the former “Victory Over America” Palace at Camp Slayer in Bagdad, Iraq. Here is a photo of the flag, which our Children’s Ministry now keeps as a reminder of the sacrifice of our uniformed men and women.

This flag, which flew in Iraq, now resides in our Children's Ministry.

Now, here are a few things you need to know:

Engage the Whole Person
Let me remind you that the Advent/Christmas season is one of the most special times of the year to invite and welcome people. Why? Because the whole story of the hope of the Messiah and the Birth of Jesus Christ is something that engages the whole person: heart and mind and spirit. What better way to show our hope and faith than by actively engaging people with some of the ministries of our church?

Financial Update
When we end the month of November, we will all get a statement from the Financial Office at Christ Church. I am sure that many of you have been watching the “Budget Update” in the bulletin week by week. I am thankful to God for the generosity of His people even in these hard times. But please recognize that December is a critical month for our ministry. We usually need a sizable increase in income to allow us to pay all bills, get current on all accounts, and balance the books by the end of the year. This year is no exception. December is a big month. Please look over your giving for the year and make your year-end giving a true sign of your faithfulness and thankfulness to our good God.

That’s all for now. I’ll see you tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

Blessings,
David+

Our pilgrimage to the Holy Land has been fantastic!

Dear Friends,

Our 2010 pilgrimage to the Holy Land is fantastic. As I write this, we are on a journey of faith and discovery that goes deep into the heart and mind. There are 51 of us…a few young folks in their 20s and many more of us in the “older set”. Regardless of age, every participant has received something special from God during this trip. I’ll be back this weekend, and in the next few weeks I’ll put up some of the videos, photos and memories for the whole church to enjoy…and perhaps even make plans to come along on the next trip!

Our New Diocesan Home
On Saturday, November 6 Christ Church was officially welcomed into the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh at their annual diocesan convention. Fr. Clint was in Pittsburgh to represent Christ Church while I am away in the Holy Land. The Archbishop, clergy, and people of Pittsburgh are very appreciative of the resources and strength that Christ Church brings to the diocese. We are thankful to have been welcomed into the diocese, and by extension, into full fellowship with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). This is a natural continuation of a relationship between Christ Church and Pittsburgh that has existed for many years. We look forward to working together for years to come to spread the gospel and nurture a strong Anglican witness in North America.

A Treat This Weekend
This weekend, Bishop Bill Godfrey will be at Christ Church…saying hello to dear friends, preaching to our church family (9:15 and 11 a.m.), and filling us in on all the happenings in the Diocese of Peru. I am amazed and humbled at the incredible progress he and his ministry partners have made in that country…sometimes with relatively scarce resources. It is a poor country, but he is a tireless worker for the Gospel and a great friend to the Peruvian people. Please come and hear what he has to say. I know you will be blessed and moved.

Invite Night: Thanksgiving Eve
The staff is making preparations for Thanksgiving Eve (Wed, Nov 24), the first of our “Invite Nights”. These are several evening events scheduled between now and June that are designed to showcase the best of Christ Church’s 25 years of ministry. Please invite your friends or family who are visiting for Thanksgiving.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month…
Veteran’s Day is this Thursday, November 11. (Do you know the significance of the 11? Read about it here.) It’s a day set aside to thank our military men and women, both past and present. They are defending our freedoms in an increasingly dangerous world, and they deserve our respect, support and prayers. If you

The Book of Common Prayer offers beautiful prayers for special occasions.

know a veteran, feel free to share his/her name in the comments section below so that all the readers can pray for them by name. Below, from The Book of Common Prayer, is a prayer for those in the Armed Forces of our Country.

Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and
keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home
and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly
grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give
them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant
them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Finally, please pray for our group of pilgrims as we travel back from the Holy Land this week. I will see you this weekend.

In Christ,
David+

Dear Friends,
I picked up a magazine on personal finance today while I was waiting in a line. Hmm…the promise of the magazine was alluring. There was an attractive couple on the front cover. There were all kinds of statements and questions on the front cover, too. “Are you ready for retirement?” “Climb out of the debt hole and be free forever!” “Stay in control of your finances when life throws you a curve ball!”

Don’t we all have those same concerns? I would guess so. But are you aware that the Bible is one of the best sources of financial advice ever written? Do you know that Jesus spends an extraordinary amount of time focused on goods, spending and personal wealth?

Every year in the fall I spend a few weeks focused on the issues of money and personal stewardship. This year, with EVERYTHING that has gone on, I can’t think of a more opportune time to refocus on this subject from a biblical perspective. This is also the perfect time to invite your friends…and to be certain that YOU are in attendance, too. After this week’s sermon you will see that the wisdom of the Bible is as relevant and personal as you could imagine. The three-week series is called “The Trust Test” and I know you will find it helpful. (Also, you will be hearing more in the weeks to come about our next Financial Peace University class which begins January 10 and has been life-changing for so many.) By the way, here is a photo of a certain “trust test”…though this is NOT exactly what I have in mind. ☺

Then, when the series ends, we will have the privilege of gathering for worship on Thanksgiving Eve. Please, go to your calendar right now and mark Wednesday, November 26 as a must-attend event for your whole family . It will be a beautiful evening service—I promise to preach my heart out and the music will give you a sense of peace and hope. It has been a hard, hard year for many people, but the Bible is quite clear on the power of God as it comes into our lives. The people of God are always called to give thanks in all things (I Thess 5:18). Paul doesn’t tell us to give thanks for all things…but to give thanks in all things. He goes on to say, “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” For Thanksgiving eve, I have a picture in my mind of our church filled to capacity with people, families and children, gathered around the table to say “thank you” for God’s blessings in their lives. Please don’t miss it.

‘See you this weekend.
David+