Our Church has accomplished a great deal in the past several years. We have been blessed with the completion of a Church annex which expands opportunities for our ministry and the addition of several new members. Last but not least is our new minister, Pastor Sean Ballard, who brings us his youth, energy and a wealth of creative ideas to assist Our Savior in meeting its true promise as a house of God. I ask each of you to give him--our good shepherd--your support.

We have also had our difficulties. We have witnessed a decline as well as stagnation in our total Church membership during the past several years. The Church owes a balloon mortgage of approximately $224,000 which gives all of us pause; and that is only a small portion of what we owe to lenders. I’ll be the first to admit that Our Savior is in debt. But this Church has never been poor. Being poor is a frame of mind. Being in debt is only a temporary situation.

Many of us do not have bank accounts overflowing with money or portfolios of stocks and bonds. What we lack in financial wealth, however, we can more than make up for with our boundless energy and enthusiasm to perform the Lord’s work. That is, if we will only let Him into our hearts; and love our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

We often think that we are inadequate to the multitude of tasks before us. We tell ourselves, “I don’t have the talent or I can’t find the time and energy.” Actually, who are we not to be capable of doing anything we set our mind and body to do? We are, after all, children of God. Our playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around us. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within all of us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Liberation from fear leads to the birth of hope and, as Eleanor Roosevelt reminds us, “Hope is the companion of power and the mother of success. For those of us who hope strongest have within us the gift of miracles.”

Our Savior has a proud tradition of service. It has been blessed thru the years with members such as Ben Smith, Adelaide McGibboney, Crowell Shelton, and a host of others whom we remember fondly. They garnered our respect because they did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm; and they did so with a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

It’s a new day at Our Savior. Let’s banish the fear, the doubt, and the lassitude. Such traits are unbecoming for Lutherans. Even though we face a multitude of challenges as a congregation, take heart. Remember, good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind the stronger the trees. That is why I am proposing the following goals for our Church in the coming year.

•To increase our membership by 20-30 new members by January, 20006.

•To bring current members, who do not attend Our Savior regularly or not at all, back into the fold as fully involved and active participants in the Church.

•To educate our communicants, children and youth in habits of good stewardship.

•To utilize both old and new methods of communication to keep all of our members apprised--including the sick and shut-in--of important Church news and events.

•To revitalize the spirit of community and Christian fellowship at Our Savior.

•To decrease our mortgage debt by 1/3 by February, 2006

•To renegotiate the Church’s balloon mortgage payment as early as we can before the due date of February, 2006 to optimize our ability to receive the lowest interest rate possible.

All of these goals are attainable. They won’t be accomplished overnight, but they can be achieved--as long as we have faith in God and in ourselves to accomplish His handiwork on this earth. Good fortune and misfortune take effect through perseverance. The way of heaven and earth becomes visible through perseverance. The way of sun and moon become bright through perseverance. All movements under heaven become uniform through perseverance. I call upon our Boards and auxiliaries as well as you the members of the Voters’ Assembly to persevere; to give enthusiastically and unselfishly of your time and talents to help Our Savior achieve these goals. For it is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do.

Some of us here today are old enough to remember World War II. Shortly after the battle of the Coral Sea in 1942, the aircraft carrier Yorktown limped into Pearl Harbor. It had suffered a direct bomb hit to its flight deck and interior compartments four decks down, spreading havoc for 100 feet--decks blistered, doors and hatches blown off, bulkheads ripped open, frames and stanchions twisted. In normal times such damage would have taken weeks, if not months to fix.

But those were not normal times. The battle of Midway was only a few days away. As one of only three U. S. carriers in the entire Pacific Ocean at the time, the Yorktown was a vital resource for the American war effort. Her absence at Midway would reduce American carrier power by 1/3. Clad in hip boots Admiral Chester Nimitz, CINCPAC stood in the Pearl Harbor dry dock with a group of naval officers assessing her damage. He asked the hull repair expert, Lt. Cmdr. H. J. Pfingstag how long it would take to repair her for active service. His answer was, “One to two months.” Nimitz told him, “We must have this ship back in three days.” Unperturbed by Nimitz’s seemingly unrealistic demand, Pfingstag replied, “The difficult we do immediately…The impossible only takes a little longer.” Three days later, a repaired, refitted and re-supplied Yorktown left Pearl Harbor to rendevous with her sister carriers and play a crucial role in one of the greatest naval victories in history and the turning point of the Pacific war.

The difficult we do immediately, the impossible only takes a little longer. Those are inspiring words to live one’s life by. So as we face what might appear to some of us an impossible task in life’s battle let’s recommit ourselves to the Lord’s good work, secure in the knowledge that the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible only takes a little longer. Yes, we can perform miracles. And the best of it is, God is with us. Let us pray: