According to church tradition, January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany. It is the occasion where we come to an end of the Christmas season with visitors from afar. With no connection to Jewish tradition, expectation or dreams, the mysterious Magi from the East follow a star in search of the gift of salvation for the world.

The so-called Wise Men knew that God was doing a new thing and they had been given a flicker of hope in the nighttime sky to go seek the Messiah.

What did they do? They showed up and submitted to the journey. They followed the star on a journey not sure where it would end.

The journey of following the light of Christ leads through the ministry of serving others. The Magi offered gifts to Jesus. One way we offer our gifts is through serving others.

We want to challenge you to consider letting 2020 be the year of showing up for the journey of serving one another.

We have been challenged with the Daniel Fast (see other post for details). Enter into the fast with a heart of surrender and seek the Lord on how you are to show up in the journey of serving others.

Here are some suggestions:

Volunteer to join a team of men who cook for Good News at Noon on Mondays.
Serve as a mentor to middle school students at Baker and Glover
Commit an hour a week to volunteer in the Gateway Store
Challenge yourself to volunteer for Family Promise
Do you like working in the dirt? Jubilee Farms will be needing volunteers starting this Spring
Mark your calendar to go to Orphanage Emmanuel in December 2020
Serve at Great Day of Service on Saturday, March 28

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please send an email to Misty Leach at mleach@gfumc.com and she can get you connected to the coordinators.

There are many organized opportunities for you to show up and be involved. But maybe the Lord is lighting a path for you that is specific for you and your family. It may be hard to see the end result. But trust the One who is guiding you in this direction.

There is a scene in J.R. Tolkien’s fantasy “The Fellowship of the Ring” in which the wise wizard Gandalf assures the young hobbit, Frodo Baggins, that he is indeed the one destined to carry the evil ring back to its destruction in the fires of Mordor.

Hobbits were small and weak. Frodo was innocent and afraid. “The ring came to you for a reason, Frodo” Gandalf tells him, “There is comfort in that.” “I wish this had never happened,” says Frodo. “So, do all who live in such times,” Gandalf replies, “But while we cannot chose the times we live in, we can chose how to respond to the time we are given.”

As we begin 2020, how will you respond to the time you are given? We may not know what the end will look like but God is calling us to trust Him with the journey.

Let’s #showup!

Pastor Jamey Prickett