Matthew 25 Church Announcement:
Jesus said, “for I was hungry, and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you gave me clothing,
I was sick and you took care of me,
I was in prison and you visited me...
Truly I tell you, just as you did It to one of the least of these
who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
– Matthew 25
The Session of the Flemington Presbyterian Church voted this week to become a Matthew 25 church! This means that as we join our ministry with God’s mission in 2020, we will intentionally focus together on cultivating congregational vitality and eradicating systemic poverty. The Session celebrated that we are currently building vitality in our life together by offering welcome and hospitality to multiple community groups with whom we share space and are beginning to cultivate relationships. The groups include AA, four Scout troops, a robotics club from the local school, PFLAG, Family Promise hosting, and the Islamic Center of Hunterdon County who hold Friday evening classes for children and youth at the church.
On a recent Sunday, the families of the robotics club were sharing their projects with our congregation after worship during our fellowship hour. Our fellowship that week featured a Soup Off contest where eight church members brought soup for everyone to have a taste and vote for their favorite. While church families learned about the robotics program, the robotics families sampled the homemade soups and voted on their favorite along with us. What some may call chaos because the Fellowship Hall was packed for that hour, others dubbed congregational vitality as we cross pollinated our lives, learning about each other, and sharing space.
Session also named that by giving regularly to local helping agencies that alleviate poverty and hosting Family Promise families in the church for two weeks during the year, we are taking small steps in the direction of eradicating systemic poverty. One way we will build on this in 2020 is by sending members of our Mission and Outreach team to visit those helping organizations which we support to see them first-hand, put names and faces together, with the hope of building more meaningful relationships. Stay tuned as 2020 may bring us more clarity about who we are as servants of God’s people. In the meantime, you can read more about the Matthew 25 initiative of PCUSA here
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Amy Lincoln