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HI, it's George Councell, Bishop of New Jersey
leaving you another message about our recovery from the Storm Sandy.
We've tried to keep in touch and we've tried to make connections
and we've tried to keep faith and to show
God's grace in the midst of
the hardship of so many.
This is a map of the Diocese of New Jersey and these are places where help
is being offered
connections are being made
to provide relief to
the people who are suffering the greatest impact from the storm
and i'm very proud to be part of the Diocese of New Jersey
and to notice that our
theme for our Convention next March is 'We've Come This Far by Faith'
and we've come this far by faith
with well over two hundred and twenty-five years as the community of
Word and Sacrament
doing mission, a missionary society in the service of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Last week I had the opportunity
to join with Bishop Belshaw
Canon Cynthia McFarland, and two representatives of
Episcopal Relief and Development
as we journeyed to
Christ Church in Toms River
to see a variety of outreach programs that administer compassion
and encouragement to God's people.
From there we had lunch with
the Reverend Neil Turton who with his wife Wendy has suffered the loss of the rectory of All Saints in Bay Head
and is dealing with the loss of being
without the comfort of a permanent residence
From there we went on to Keansburg, New Jersey where we saw a feeding program
in motion and a wonderful, proud sign that said that feeding program would be available every day from 2 to 3. That's
the accountability, the sacrifice, the care
the compassion of our people representing
the heart of God
towards the suffering.
We then went up to Long Branch
and saw yet another feeding program
and had time with the volunteers who were there, not just in this crisis
but year round and every week
uh... providing
the grace and comfort of the Gospel
and an encouraging hot meal, as well.
'We've come this far by faith'
and as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving
it's high on my list
to be thankful for a diocese
that is busy with the work of Christ
in the face of the hardship of this world.
As we prepare for the last Sunday after Pentecost.
the Day of Pentecost
it's known as 'Christ the King',
i want to celebrate
and encourage everyone to
lift up our hearts,
lift up our hearts, because we know that
Christ is the Sovereign
and that in the end
it is His will
that will be done.
In the end, as we like to say, Jesus wins.
So if you want to see that victory at work
go to any of these places
go to any of the hundred or so other
places where the Episcopal Church is present and active
and more than eager to be of service to the people of God.
God bless us all, God uphold us in this work. We've come this far by faith . . .
Who knows what God has for us yet to do? Amen.