BY THE REV. HERMAN YOOS
Bishop, South Carolina Synod
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Imagine your hands helping to lift three framed, heavy wooden walls for the new Cristo Rey sanctuary, along with 35 Latino brothers and sisters in Christ. I was there on November 24th when together we lifted the first three walls that were framed by the ELCA Mission Builders and volunteers. Seeing the excitement and joy on their faces is something I will never forget.
The joy continued for me that next Sunday when I helped Pastor Jorge confirm 22 young people. Again, I wish you could have seen in their faces and faces of their parents how important this service reaffirming their baptism meant to each one. Clearly God is moving hearts and lives through the good news of Jesus Christ that we share together through our partnership with Cristo Rey and the South Carolina Synod.
I am inviting you to join into what God is doing in our midst by praying and making a financial commitment to help finish building this sanctuary and to provide funds for future Latino ministry outreach across the state.
In John 10:10, Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” What Jesus is referring to here is the abundance of God’s grace that we all receive and the abundance of loving relationships through the body of Christ and with our neighbors around us. In a few weeks your congregation will join with other congregations in gathering a special, one-time love offering. Of each $1.10 given, $.80 will be used to finish the sanctuary of Cristo Rey, $.20 will be used for new and ongoing Latino ministry (especially in the upstate) and $.10 will be used to establish an endowment for Cristo Rey to help with future maintenance issues. Any and every size gift is appreciated.
Thank you for all the ways you share Christ’s abundance with others.
