Excitment

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Bonnie and I are excited to be here in Irwin and at the First UMC.  Our parsonage is lovely and you will have to come to open house December 18.  Of course you are always welcome at our home.  We have wonderful neighbors.   A high school friend of ours, someone Bonnie graduated with, lives across the street from us.  So far we have discovered about 14 places to eat.  No, make that about 18.  MMM, probably even more than that.  We have tried about a dozen or so.  We quickly learned that fancy isn't always the best.  In fact there is a diner that I went to recently in Trafford that serves the best fish.  It is not a fancy place but the food and service were wonderful.  I will definitely go back there for a bite.  Maybe this afternoon.

I have come to realize that no matter what a church looks like on the outside it is what the people are like on the inside that really matter.  Here at Irwin First United Methodist Church we are hungry for the Spirit of God and eager to reach out to the world around us in new ways.  You can feel the "Love" when you come into our church.  We want to help you in any way we can to get to know Jesus better.  No, we are not perfect, but we are a work in progress thanks be to God.  Won't you join us and help us to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a hurting world?  We are family and want you to join us.

The old phrase is true: you cant judge a book by its cover.  You cant judge a church by its exterior either.  I hope and pray that no matter what you look like on the outside that you have Jesus in your heart on the inside.  So lets have some fun and excitement and figure out ways to lead people to Jesus.  Together we can make a huge dfference in the world with the Holy Spirit leading the way.

Summer is about over and it is time to come back to church.  Why?  Well, because the Bible says to gather together and because Jesus set the example of going to temple every day and because God Almighty deserves our presence, presents, and praise.  See you there.

God loves you and so do I,

Pastor Bruce

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