For the month of July, Pastor Joseph C. T. Flippin has been preaching on the theme of "Sticking Together." This past Sunday's topic was "The Church of Nanjemoy": We must be a church of God and Christ--Jesus is the center, and we must be linked up to the community. We must speak with power, truth, and authority, and be united with one purpose. We must be one body in Christ, be strong in our prayer lives/ministry/worship, have the same faith/doctrine/mission, and not allow the spirit of rebellion to come against our church. We are connected through the Ultimate Unifier: Jesus Christ, and we will have a solid foundation if we use our gifts to serve the church and community of Nanjemoy. God has given us a blessed hope and promise and we must share the good news with our neighbors. This all ties in with our church's vision: To be an ALIVE Christ-centered church focused on SERVING our community through LOVE and with a message of HOPE.
After Pastor Flippin finished preaching, Reverend Gwen Warren called for a special time of prayer. Normally we have intercessory prayer in the very beginning of service, but this day, we ended in prayer (and of course an altar call to accept Christ as one's savior and an invitation to become members of the church) before the benediction and dismissal. We all gathered around the sanctuary to pray for our church, our community, and our nation. I confess that I peeked during this time of prayer to look around at my Brothers and Sisters in Christ: all holding hands, heads bowed, united in one accord. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of joy and gratitude at this family of believers! Overwhelmed to the point of tears!
You see, ever since I set foot in this church, my mother and I have been welcomed with open arms. From that first day back in August when I was alone, broken, and desperate to be reminded of God's love for me, I felt nothing but love and acceptance from everyone here! Before I even got out of the car, a Sister greeted me and welcomed me to her church. The ushers were glad to see me, I was greeted by many members as I made my way to the front row, and Reverend Gwen Warren and Minister Jacqueline Swann deliberately came down from the pulpit to hug me and welcome me to OGMBC. During Rev. Warren's VERY POWERFUL intercessory prayer minutes later, I broke down in tears, thankful that I found my way through these doors. Sister Bridget hugged me afterwards (probably for as long as I needed, even though I didn't want to hold up church service!), telling me everything was going to be okay and reminding me how much God loved me. I was showered with love from the minute I walked in to the minute I left. Most importantly, Pastor Flippin made a point to personally come to me and welcome me to the church and ask me my name, which he has never forgotten (no pastor has ever done this before, and I've been to a LOT of churches in my lifetime!), and greets me every chance he gets. When I brought my mother with me the next Sunday, she received the royal treatment as well, and the love has not stopped!
So, fast forward to this past Sunday and prayer concludes. Two more people step forward to become members, and we are encouraged to hug our neighbors and tell them we love them, which we all did joyfully. A Brother in Christ hugged me and asked if I was okay as I wiped away my tears. I assured him I was, but the truth is, I wanted to break out in shouts of joy at how happy I am to be part of this church!!! With all the racial tension going on these days, I have never felt any animosity or prejudice from any of my church family. It doesn't matter that I am one of few Caucasians, I am accepted and loved and appreciated as a Sister in Christ! I serve when and where I can, and am so thankful for all the help I've received (especially from Rev. Gwen and Deacon Frank Tibbs!) over the last year, especially after my knee injury and surgery.
This church is a PRIME example of how the ENTIRE WORLD needs to be! We are living out Jesus' second greatest commandment of loving our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31). Because let me tell you, how are we supposed to LOVE our NEIGHBOR and our COMMUNITY if we can't even LOVE the person sitting in the pew next to us??? Well, this church DOES!
So, I just want to thank Pastor Flippin and First Lady Kendall for the excellent job they are doing of leading this church, to all the Deacons and Trustees, and to all my Brothers and Sisters in Christ: THANK YOU! Thank you for accepting me into The Fold, thank you for loving me and my mother, and thank you for being wonderful examples of Jesus Christ. Together we can reach the community, and hopefully the world.
GOD bless you ALL!!! I love you all so much!
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