We were blessed to hear from two members of our bishopric today.
Brother Hanis opened the meeting by having everyone stand up who has been in our ward for 3 months or less, then 6 months, then a year. Then he asked anyone to stand up who has lived in Katy their entire lives. He asked who spoke another language and what languages are spoken. The point being that we have a great background with a lot of diversity in a fast growing, ever changing ward. With this comes a great need to serve and love one another.
Brother Scott then got up to speak. He read Galatians 6:2: Bear ye one another's burdens to fulfill the law of Christ.
With the organization of our church, we have the special blessing of being in groups or wards where we can teach and pray and work together towards the same goal. Moses 7:18 says: "And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them."
The bishopric has a vision for us to be a highly powerful ward where people have the feeling of belonging in Zion. The challenge of an ever changing ward is that we need to double our efforts of getting to know people and reaching out to serve. Brother Scott shared a couple of personal experiences from their last ward. One as a new move in and hearing the service offered to a woman in need and feeling a little out of it since they didn't know anyone or have the opportunity to serve themselves. A few years later though, after becoming fully established in the same ward, they had experienced a loss within their own family. They were the recipients of much service. They had gotten to know each other and served and loved each other.
It takes effort. We have a super ward, a very high functioning ward. The bishopric wants to challenge us to make an effort to really go out of our way and extend ourselves. They challenge us to meet two new people each week for the remainder of the year. If someone new comes to our ward, the bishopric hopes they are swarmed. They shared an experience within our stake when a man who had been inactive for several years decided to try to come back to his ward. He was never greeted and went home telling himself that it must not have been the right time for him to come back.
Let's make sure that there are no "poor (in needs) among us".
Brother Scott then got up to speak. He read Galatians 6:2: Bear ye one another's burdens to fulfill the law of Christ.
With the organization of our church, we have the special blessing of being in groups or wards where we can teach and pray and work together towards the same goal. Moses 7:18 says: "And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them."
The bishopric has a vision for us to be a highly powerful ward where people have the feeling of belonging in Zion. The challenge of an ever changing ward is that we need to double our efforts of getting to know people and reaching out to serve. Brother Scott shared a couple of personal experiences from their last ward. One as a new move in and hearing the service offered to a woman in need and feeling a little out of it since they didn't know anyone or have the opportunity to serve themselves. A few years later though, after becoming fully established in the same ward, they had experienced a loss within their own family. They were the recipients of much service. They had gotten to know each other and served and loved each other.
It takes effort. We have a super ward, a very high functioning ward. The bishopric wants to challenge us to make an effort to really go out of our way and extend ourselves. They challenge us to meet two new people each week for the remainder of the year. If someone new comes to our ward, the bishopric hopes they are swarmed. They shared an experience within our stake when a man who had been inactive for several years decided to try to come back to his ward. He was never greeted and went home telling himself that it must not have been the right time for him to come back.
Let's make sure that there are no "poor (in needs) among us".
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