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SERVICE
Our journey through this
life on earth is marked with the cross from the day of our
baptism when we receive new life through water and the word. The
rite of baptism includes the phrase "marked with the cross of
Christ forever."
What does it mean for each of us to be "marked with the cross?"
The cross we bear may be one of service to other people as we
reach out to share our faith and our material blessings. Many
people serve in helping professions such as church work, medical
services, teaching, police work, and fire fighting. Others reach
out in various ways to those who bear the cross of hunger,
poverty, depression, grief.
Think about your own life and the times you needed someone to
help bear a burden. When you are in distress, it may seem that
God has forsaken you, but God’s endless love and mercy is with
you at all times. Through the cross that Jesus bore, we receive
forgiveness of sins, eternal salvation, and new birth in the
Holy Spirit.
Each of us can reach out to God through prayer - for ourselves,
for others, for the world. We can be alert to seeing the needs
around us and to answering those needs in whatever way we can.
We can support God’s work in the world by participating in the
various outreach programs of the church.
Is God calling you to service? Are you answering?
Marjorie Bender
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