Pastor’s Perspective May 2023

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. (Mt. 15:22)

Hopewell, last year this time I expressed how thankful and grateful to God I was for all the favor He had bestowed upon us, as a Church family, and as I write this Pastor’s Perspective, I am doubly thankful and grateful to God for his manifold blessings He is bestowing upon every one of us. I want to thank every member for your prayers, support, and allegiance to recommitting to serving God with a renewed perspective. So far this year we have regathered with contagious enthusiasm, and have achieve every goal, and conquered every challenge in the spirit of Unity, and God has commanded His blessings upon us. To God Be The Glory!

Of course, I want to encourage those who have not returned to service yet, we are patiently waiting for you and can only imagine how much greater our worship will be when you gather with us.

Now as we know, the month of May is synonymous with Mothers and rightfully so, because they absolutely are deserving of it. Again, on the second Sunday, I want to encourage everyone who is blessed to have your loving mother with you, to please think of something unexpected and extremely special for Her. Believe me, there is nothing you can think of doing that can repay your mother for all she has done for you. And for those of us who are blessed with the precious and pleasant memories of our loving mothers who are now in the presence of God, let us find great comfort and strength in knowing we had mothers who went to great lengths to provide for our needs. And I am convinced that every Mother in Hopewell is a loving and dedicated Mother. Just like the Canaanite woman that approached Jesus in Matthew 15:22, pleading for Him to heal her daughter. And though Jesus ignored her and even called her a dog she persisted until she got healing for her daughter. I thank God for Mothers that are willing to stand up and speak out for their children to make sure they are whole. Therefore, let us express our love and do everything in our means to make our loving Mothers feel like the strong Beautiful Matriarchs they are.

Also, again this year we are going to do something special for the Women Who Love Like Mothers in our congregation. There are women among us who nurture and sow into the lives of many children and we want to start celebrating them. I want to thank Sis. Alene Stanley for recognizing and recommending that we acknowledge and appreciate these wonderful women who are making life changing contributions.

So Again, Hopewell I ask that you continue to honor our covenant and to follow me even as I follow Christ.

Recommitting to Serving God,

Pastor R. C. Stanley