Dear Friends in Christ,
Both St Anne’s and Zion are blessed with church partnerships that both help us to continue to work, pray and worship within our own traditions and then extend our witness beyond what we could do on our own.
As several Tongan Methodist churches gathered to celebrate and contribute to the ongoing success of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga here in Stockton at their annual Misinale, many people expressed their gratitude for St Anne’s hospitality.
As we offer hospitality to the Tongan Church, we are blessed in return. Not only does the Tongan Church contribute to our bottom line, their presence on our property, especially in the evenings and the early morning hours, contributes to our safety and security.
We also appreciate the lively participation of their youth in Grandma’s Garden, Code 7 and other church activities.
On Monday, the Grandma’s Garden board will meet with members of Primera Iglesia’s Christian Education Team to plan a bilingual, collaborative summer program at Zion. This builds on the friendships that were developed during the Grandma’s Garden, Zion’s version during July 2025.
Following up on the collaboration that was established during the Family Water Festival last August, Primera Iglesia and Zion are collaborating on a Christmas Family Festival on Saturday, December 20 at 10 am. This will be held on the lawn at Zion that faces Gettysburg. Primera Iglesia will provide the Live Nativity. Zion will provide the petting zoo and the bagpipes (Thank you Abe!). And we will both provide the hot chocolate and the cookies.
In November, as we prepare for Thanksgiving, we will all have the opportunity to provide food boxes for needy families in our communities and for farmworker families living in trailer parks in Linden. More information about exactly how we will do this will be coming soon.
Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians:
“There is one body, and one spirit, just as you are called to the one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4)
We are blessed as this unity and this hope become real within our community of four churches.
Faithfully yours,
Rebecca