[This is the message given originally at the Annual Dinner on October 18, 2024 at the Detroit Athletic Club by Rev. Todd Meyer. The purpose was to give vision for 2025 in the areas of spiritual growth and service.]
2024 has been a good year of growth Mariners numerically and in leadership, but I want to speak to you about looking for areas of growth spiritually. These thoughts have more to do with growing our heart, than programs.
As a church I want each of us to serve out of a love for others, no matter who they are, or if they add to our bottom line. This is a vision to look at growing the Kingdom of God, not just Mariners Church. This only happens when we look at loving others through selfless service.
It’s as I even spoke about even last week in my message, quoting I Corinthians 13:1-3.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love,
I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
In other words, it comes down to the ‘why?’. What’s our motivation? If we become so insular that we only focus on ourselves, our families, and our institutions, we actually become self defeating.
Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
HOWEVER, the Christian life isn’t one of simply self denial and morbid habitual sacrifice. When we give up pursuit of the things that are about the world and its pursuits, then we take up what God wants us to pursue. We “follow him”. And what is that?
Well it’s what we say at the beginning of our service each Sunday. The summary of the law is ‘Love God’ and ‘Love others’.
Loving God is often thought to be reflected only in our actions, but it is primarily from the heart. Just like if your heart isn’t healthy when exercising it could have devastating effects, if your spiritual heart isn’t healthy while doing spiritual things, it does you no good. It actually can harm you.
In 2025 we are going to be offering some opportunities for prayer. First, we want to be able to continue to be a “House of Prayer”, not just in the liturgy of the church on Sundays, but through prayer retreats and opportunities to pray at home.
This year the Trustees did a first ever prayer retreat at Manresa Retreat Center in Bloomfield Hills. This Jesuit campus designed for group and individual prayer was a great place to go and get away. We will be doing this in the seasons to come as a church at least twice in the year to come.
It is through prayer that we can hear from God and fall more deeply in love with God. We want to grow our hearts in meditative prayer throughout the week both at home, and with each other.
So, first, we want to grow as a “House of Prayer”, but second, when we talk about being a house of prayer “for all people”. This means we love people where they are, Not just those who happen through our door.
It’s uncanny that whenever Jesus is asked about loving your neighbor he gives the examples of the marginalized and the poor.
Whether its the parables he tells, like parable of the Good Samaritan; the people he spent time with – taxpayers and sinners; or the very life he lead – one of being marginalized and poor, himself…Jesus always had this on his mind for ‘loving others’.
Toward that end, we are going to be re-upping our commitment to two organizations that do just that in the city of Detroit. And whether you can serve there yourself, or simply pray and give. We want to be involved again at both The Children’s Center and The Pope Francis Center.
The Children’s Center has been serving our community for almost 100 years. We have volunteered at different events in the past, many times around Christmas.
Angela Polk and her husband, Gerald, has joined us tonight to give us a brief overview of the center, then I’m going to be telling you about a specific opportunity we have to serve. Angela overseas Corporate and Foundation Philanthropy – and volunteers fall under her responsibilities. Angela, thank you for being here, please come up and speak to us…
The After school facility of the Center is pretty impressive. I’m going to start this slide show for you as I talk about our opportunity. This center provides afterschool help (starting around 4pm) with reading, games, art, computers, and more. They provide clothes and food. We are going to have a regular time there as a church and you will be able to come and serve as you can.
This may be organizing the clothes in the boutique, or helping a child become a better reader by sharing a book on their level. Whatever it is you are doing, its all in this same impressive after school center at the main campus.
We will have more information in the coming months, but please talk to me right away if this is something you are interested in.
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Our second organization that we want to highlight is The Pope Francis Center. Most of you are familiar with the warming center. Men and woman can come for breakfast, lunch, hang out, get warm or cool off – shower, and gain much needed medical, mental, and physical help. We have volunteered there in the past.
But now there is a new, state of the art, short term rehab facility called the Bridge Housing Campus. This is where men and women who are homeless and perhaps coming off addiction, can have a permanent place to live for 90-120 days, while they get clean and gain employment.
Our very own Daryl Wilson, who serves Mariners’ as head of security, also has served at Pope Francis Center keeping that facility safe. But they saw, just like we all have seen, that Daryl is someone who cares for and loves people, while he keeps you safe. For that reason he has recently been invited to this brand new facility as the Director of Men at the Bridge Housing Campus.
Daryl, would you come up and tell us what it is that you will be doing at this new facility, then I’ll let you know of an opportunity we have as a church to serve – from LOVE – this major new rehab shelter in Detroit….
We are going to be filling a much needed slot each month, probably on a Monday, to serve lunch with those staying at the Bridge Housing Campus. This is such a wonderful opportunity. Not only will we be able to serve – just like this man is serving here- but we will be able to join the folks for a meal if we want to.
Both these opportunities are about relationships, which is where love grows. This is where we come at this service out of a Love for God, then our love for others grows.
Amen.