Lakeside Community Presbyterian Church

This Christmas season, I am reflecting with deep gratitude for the mission and ministry of Lakeside Community Presbyterian Church. There is much to be thankful.

I am thankful for all that call our faith community home, who are yearning and yielding their lives to following Jesus.

I am thankful for those who use their gifts of teaching to impart spiritual lessons and precepts to us. From adult and children’s Sunday school classes to Bible studies, prayer gatherings and small groups, many of you help us to grow deeper in our walks with Jesus as we open the Bible and learn together about being His disciples.

I am thankful for our music ministry, for Ron Hilley, our musicians, vocalists and sound tech. team serve by enriching our worship through music. Throughout a week, Ron spends many hours practicing and rehearsing for upcoming worship services and his work is truly a gift to us.

I am thankful for the many that serve our church and ministries that serve the people of the Lakeside community.

I am thankful for all of the efforts and the ministry that takes place at our  free Eat & Greet community lunches. There is a whole community of people who regularly attend our monthly gatherings, sharing a meal and building relationships with one another. It is here that seeds of faith our sown and nurtured and the crew of people from our church who help to make this happen are truly a gift to the church and the community.

I am thankful for the support we give to military families during the holiday seasons. The Military Outreach Mission of San Diego (MOM) do so much for these families. From Thanksgiving baskets full of goodies for Thanksgiving feast to the Christmas store where parents are able to “shop” for presents for their children. Our church is so giving to MOM and it goes beyond donations. The gift of time and service are evident throughout.

I am thankful for those that serve at the Lakeside Christian HELPS Center. It is especially touching to see the line of people who come to the Center to receive a “hand-up” to make ends meet. There are hundreds of people who are helped through the support of the various churches in Lakeside and the many who help to make this happen.

My prayer is that your Christmas will be filled with the comfort and joy of Christ’s presence and that you are able to celebrate His coming to the world to be God with us. This is Good News that needs to be shared.

Have a great Christmas and I hope to see you on Christmas Eve at either our morning (9:45am) or afternoon (4:00pm) services.

As we come to the middle of our Advent preparations, I want to leave a poem for you to read on what we might bring to the baby Jesus. The bitter-sweet poem (which is also a favorite hymn of mine and of the broader church) reminds us that the best gift that we can give to Jesus is our heart. May this poem help you in your Christmas preparations to remember the true meaning of Christmas. (If you want, you can listen to the hymn here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBCYZ9jIJkI)

In the Bleak Mid-Winter
Christina Rossetti

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain,
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty —
Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom Cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk