“Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”
The Missionary Society of Lane Tabernacle Christian Methodist Church is thankful for a fruitful 2006 and look forward to great service in 2007.
Prison Ministry
We continue to seek ways to strengthen and uplift our sisters who are incarcerated. The Christmas Service was a joy to them and they were truly uplifted by the inspiring message delivered by Pastor Morris, and members of the missionary society who accompanied him to the Hall Street Facility on December 22. Minister Betty Hopson, Sis. Gertha Smith, Sis. Gwen Scales, Sis. Minnie Hall, Bro. Jerry Hall, and Bro. William Rodgers shared in the Christmas service and distributed personal care packets that were made possible by donations received from our Lane Tabernacle family. We also were able to “Adopt a family” of one of the inmates and provided toys and food to a family of children to help them have a Blessed and Merry Christmas. Our 3rd Sunday ministry is a blessing to them and they are inspired by messages and prayer sessions provided by Minister Betty Hopson and Sis. Maxine L. Day, missionary president.
Ministry of Concern
Missionaries also distributed “love packages” to some of our sick and shut in members. Gift bags containing socks, lotion, Kleenex and an inspirational greeting were prepared.
Special thanks to our Rossie T. Hollis Children’s Department for assisting in preparing the bags that brought joy to our sick and shut in members.
Quilts for Newborns
Special thank you to Sis. Ruby Pickett for coordinating a ministry for quilts for newborns for Christmas. These gifts of love were made possible by donations of fabric and of precious time in preparation. Beautiful quilts have been made by Sis. Pickett, Sis. Corin Crymes, Sis. Vanessa Harris, and Sis. Ann Jacox. This joy has inspired us to continue quilts and begin preparation of other items that our nursing home & shut in members can use throughout the year.
Emergency Preparedness Presentation
A special presentation was made to our missionary group at our December 23rd meeting by Sis. Norma Mitchell, a member of Missionary Circle 2 who also serves as Director of Emergency Preparedness for the City of Black Jack, Mo. She gave a brief, but informative presentation on how to prepare for natural disasters such as power outages, earthquakes, and other such disasters. Materials were distributed for use in planning our homes for these occurrences. By popular request, we are going to schedule another session on this subject. Time and place will be announced.
Our Ministry:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” We invite others to share in our ministry as we work to serve the needs of others. We have great plans ahead for 2007 and we need your help with some of the ministries ahead. Please plan to attend one or both of our meetings available each month:
Missionary Circles 1-4 will meet briefly following worship service each 3rd Sunday at Lane to review and plan special projects for each circle.General missionary society group meeting is held each 4th Saturday at Lane.Rossie T. Hollis Childrens Ministry & activities as announced.
New Year’s Eve Fifth Sunday Worship:
Missionary Society was blessed to conduct another Fifth Sunday worship experience. Praises to our Lord for the ability to serve one more time on the eve of the last day of 2006. On that Sunday, December 31, we were blessed to have Bishop Paul A.G. Stewart, Mrs. M. Earline Stewart, and Paul Stewart, Jr. to worship with us and offered words of encouragement and inspiration to the missionary society, to the Lane family, and commendation of the wonderful leadership provided by the tireless efforts of our Pastor, Rev. Dr. James T. Morris.
A powerful message was delivered by Rev. Charlet Givens titled "When The Powers Off". Music was provided by the gifted voices of the Male Choir of Lane under the direction of Dr. Johnny Barker, Jr. Members of our Rossie T. Hollis Children’s Department took part in the service. We were blessed with Miss. Alexandria Hopson, Miss Amani King, and Master Dominque Price Morris in a spectacular mime performance choreographed by Master Dominique Price Morris. Master Xavier Thomas led the responsive reading. Our future is our children and they truly showed the way. We also were blessed to have four young ladies give their life to Christ that day.
This was a special day for us as we drew to the close of another year. A time when we were drawn to reflect on what God had provided to us. My vision was to view life as a sporting event; a football game. One special part of a football game is the video replay. This is often required when the officials are not sure of what critical moves took place during that play which would determine what the final result would be. I reflected on critical plays or moments in my life where God was called to serve as the Referee and noted instances in our lives where the call was made in our favor. We were spared; not because of our ability or goodness, but because of His Grace and His Mercy. Each of us has a purpose in God’s master plan. There is more work for us to do, and that is why we were not yet called…we had not yet reached the goal post in His game of life. We were called to reflect on those who had been called to their eternal home this past year, those who had labored—who had their jersey retired as they had fulfilled God’s purpose for their life. Our work is not yet done, and so we are encouraged to continue until another play is reviewed for us. We may be needed to teach, to nurture, to witness, to prepare the young new members of the team for the coming season. Once that purpose has been fulfilled. Then and only then will the Referee determine whether or not we had reached our goal…. When we hear Him say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”……Touchdown!
