Gratitude

The New Year

For thy mercy and thy grace, faithful through another year,
Hear our song of thankfulness; Father and Redeemer, hear.
Lo! Our sins on thee we cast, Thee our perfect sacrifice,
And forgetting all the past, Press towards our glorious prize.
O. Gibbons; The Church Hymnary, 1898

I've been looking through the New Year?s sections in some old hymnals. In most it is considerably more extensive than in our modern collections. Many of the hymns express amazement that the writer has been spared by the grace of God yet another year. An old Methodist hymnal contains a hymn by Charles Wesley that has made it to few other publications I have seen. It begins:

And are we yet alive,
And see each other?s face?
Glory and prayise to Jesus give,
For his redeeming grace.

One feature I notice in these hymns is a thankfulness to God for his mercy in preserving life and an absence of taking anything for granted. God has granted us another year. It is God who makes our lives worth living. May we be filled with thanksgiving and awareness of his grace.

Naomi Boel

This year, our Annual Mitten Tree collected: 108 hats, 110 pairs of gloves/mittens and 27 scarves. Many of these lovely items were contributed in matching sets. These items are given to Doors of Hope where families can pick out what they need. Thank you all again and again for contributing to this worthwhile cause. You all helped to bring holiday "warmth" to community members.

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Thank you to all the young people of First Reformed church for the gift of food to our pantry, which will assist many families in need. We pray the Lord will bless you and your families during this time of giving Him thanks for His goodness. ~The Doors of Hope Volunteers

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Thank you to those who helped decorate our sanctuary for the Christmas season during the Trim the Tree Party. A special thanks to Jackye Rider for coordinating the delicious soups that were served and to Jim Mastromarchi and Tom Weldon for setting up the Christmas tree.

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Thank you to all who helped in any way with the "Voices of Christmas" Cantata on 12/18. Everyone, the readers, singers, those that helped with food and refreshments, Glenn Van Oort and Jim Mastromarchi. You're all loved and appreciated. Many thanks, again!