Dear Members and Friends of the United Methodist Church of Merrick,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Risen Christ!
I pray this finds you and your family well. With the unexpected snowstorm, we seem to have bypassed Autumn and gone right into Winter. I frequently talk of going through the storms of life with the congregation, and now I guess I can say we did, albeit a small one. Thanks be to God!
With the blessings of our Lord God, the delayed Harvest Fair was great success. All of our congregation worked very hard, and our friends and neighbors responded with their presence. The Harvest Fair may have been scaled back this year, but the food was just as tasty, and the cake just as sweet. We are planning to have a Spring Fair next year, so please stay tuned for more news on that.
By the time you read this, the Thanksgiving holidays would be behind us, and we are looking forward to Christmas. The church will be in the season of Advent, anticipating the coming of Christ. The dictionary tells us that one of the definitions of advent is the arrival of a notable person, and what notable person He is! As we celebrate Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy during the Advent season, we invite you, your family and friends to join us here at Merrick UMC on the start of the New Christian Year.
The Bible tells, us; "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV)." Let us start the New Season together, with Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy.
As the congregation of Merrick UMC and I walk and live the Christian path together in this journey of life, we invite you to join us in this journey.
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Akio Iyoda
