Dear Church,   I look at my Sundays as the highlight of my week.  Yesterday was a good example of how the body of Christ functions together as a community.  We worship together, we study together, we eat together, we play together, and we enjoy our time together.    Church is an oasis from a hard and weary world we live in.  See, Christian faith can be enjoyed only in the context of a community. When we come together as a body with other people, we find a community where we learn how to love, care, show grace and forgive.  Community is God’s answer to loneliness and godliness.  No matter if you are an introvert or extrovert, everybody has a longing for belonging because God made us for relationships (with him and each other).  When you walk alongside other Christians in community, you find these two longings satisfied.  The bible says; Psalm 133:1 (NIV), “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”    Hebrews 10:24-25, ”And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Our faith can only be enjoyed if we walk alongside other people. Our life is not a 50-yard dash; it’s a long-distance run through some very difficult terrain.  So having other people with us gives us hope and energy as we face hurdles.  You also learn more walking with others than walking alone.  If you are walking alone, it will be hard to recognize that you may be walking in the wrong direction.  But if you are in a community of friends, someone is likely to recognize that you’ve veered off into the wilderness and usher you back.                                                             ************ Here are the answers for the two questions that I asked in church yesterday.   Who is an MIT graduate responsible for building one of the first weather satellites?   Answer:  Ken Overoye     Who holds 12 Patents in the area of industrial microwave processing and is also a figure skating gold medalist?   Answer:  Dick Edger   Make sure you make an effort to meet these two wonderful people this Sunday.   Several of you texted me the answers, and only one of you got it right. Hank Daly!  Hank was awarded a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card with the understanding that it will be used to take Ken and Dick out for coffee!   Get ready for next week’s questions!!  Who will it be?!   Be Encouraged, Mathews