One of the elements of the Strategic Plan that we adopted in the first months of 2023 was a desire for increased membership. We set benchmarks of five new members each year. In 2023 we received six! Jim, Tina, Ann, Mary, Richard and Bob K. So far in 2024 we’ve received four new members: Rachel, Scott, Mike and Ginger. We also baptized Ronan in 2023 and Kylah in 2024. Great job, folks!

I’d like to remind us of these goals so that we can all participate in continuing to grow our delightful church family into the future. Two of the methods listed within those benchmarks were inviting friends, neighbors and also members who’ve stopped coming and inviting those we meet at our public events like pie sales and spaghetti suppers. Who can you think of that you might invite?

In joining a church, you make a visible your commitment to Christ and to the people of Oakdale. You become a member of the body of Christ doing the work of Love in the world, bringing peace and helping the poor and hungry. Church membership also provides a framework in which members can grow their own faith through worship, bible study and holding each other accountable.

Research shows that people are more likely to come to church when invited by you, their friends, rather than the pastor. That makes sense since they know and trust you. They’ve observed your life and your joy.

When I was still working as a paralegal 30 years ago, but was a faithful volunteer at my local church, I lived my faith out loud and can remember several instances of bringing friends to faith or back to church. My friend Maureen was a lapsed Catholic, a single mom raising her sweet son next door to us. I was always talking about going to church or teaching Sunday School or sharing wonderful things in my life that I attributed to my faith, like healing spiritually and emotionally following a stillbirth. Eventually, she started going to her Catholic church again, participating in feeding ministries and an Alpha Course on Christian Faith. She still goes today, thirty years later and has thanked me for being instrumental in that!

I served as President of the Paralegal Association of New Hampshire back then too and was always scheduling those meetings around church meetings so my friend Lorinda heard me talking about prayerful activities. One Saturday, she showed up at my home, needing to leave her abusive husband. I prayed with her and supported her through that difficult time and she found comfort in that prayer, eventually seeking a place to practice it regularly and rejoined the local Baptist church becoming a deacon and a strong worker for recovery ministries.

Granted, neither of those people joined MY church, but I never asked them to because the Christian Science Church that I was a part of at the time doesn’t proselytize, that is, recruit new members overtly. In my time at the United Methodist Church I have encouraged people to sing with the Praise band, teach VBS and participate in other activities that have been avenues for them to get to know the church and eventually join.

I hope you’ll give some thought to living your faith out loud as an example to others who might be seeking God, even though they don’t use those words. Invite friends, family and neighbors to come to our suppers and special events. When you bring prayers to church for your friends, family and neighbors, go back to them and share that we’ve prayed for them. Tell them God cares and so do we. Invite them to worship on Christmas or Easter when we’re singing by candlelight at midnight or at sunrise by the Stone Church. Once they dip their toe in the water of this loving congregation, they may want to be a part of it!

stillbirth. Eventually, she started going to her Catholic church again, participating in feeding ministries and an Alpha Course on Christian Faith. She still goes today, thirty years later and has thanked me for being instrumental in that!

I served as President of the Paralegal Association of New Hampshire back then too and was always scheduling those meetings around church meetings so my friend Lorinda heard me talking about prayerful activities. One Saturday, she showed up at my home, needing to leave her abusive husband. I prayed with her and supported her through that difficult time and she found comfort in that prayer, eventually seeking a place to practice it regularly and rejoined the local Baptist church becoming a deacon and a strong worker for recovery ministries.

Granted, neither of those people joined MY church, but I never asked them to because the Christian Science Church that I was a part of at the time doesn’t proselytize, that is, recruit new members overtly. In my time at the United Methodist Church I have encouraged people to sing with the Praise band, teach VBS and participate in other activities that have been avenues for them to get to know the church and eventually join.

I hope you’ll give some thought to living your faith out loud as an example to others who might be seeking God, even though they don’t use those words. Invite friends, family and neighbors to come to our suppers and special events. When you bring prayers to church for your friends, family and neighbors, go back to them and share that we’ve prayed for them. Tell them God cares and so do we. Invite them to worship on Christmas or Easter when we’re singing by candlelight at midnight or at sunrise by the Stone Church. Once they dip their toe in the water of this loving congregation, they may want to be a part of it! 

Worship: Our Advent Worship Series this year is called On the Way to Bethlehem and begins on Sunday, December 1^st. We will hold our Annual Christmas Eve service of Lessons and Carols beginning with a 15 minute prelude by the Oakdale Minstrels and culminating with Silent Night by Candlelight. On the Sunday after Christmas we’ll have a hymn sing during worship. Please give your favorite Christmas hymns to Pastor Cheryl to prepare the service in advance. After worship during fellowship we’ll have Christmas Carol-oke downstairs where we’ll sing along to favorite secular Christmas music. It promises to be a lot of fun!