According to Dr. Mark Allan Powell of Trinity Seminary in Columbus Ohio, the second happiest people in the world are grateful people.  When a person recognizes his or her blessings and is grateful,  everything  looks better.  Gratitude colors one’s life and helps a person see blessings even in difficult situations.  Yes, the second happiest people in the world are grateful people.  

So, if the second happiest people are grateful people, who are the happiest? 

Generous people!  Really.  When we are generous we look outside of ourselves, we are more Christ-like, we become more of whom God made us to be. Look around. Think of the happy people you know.  I'm thinking generosity is a big part of their lives.  I know some of the things that make me happiest are when I'm being generous. 

During this 50^th Year Anniversary of Our Savior, we have some extra opportunity to be grateful and to be generous.  Many have already done so!  

To back up a little, at our annual meeting this past January, the congregation voted to move ahead with a building proposal to expand our narthex, “gathering and sending” space and do some important upgrading on our present church building among other things.  The estimated cost for all of this is in the area of $700,000.  

The plans are being developed and the fund raising has begun.  That involved a letter with a picture of our proposal and a “plan for giving” card which went out to everyone on our mailing list. 

HOWEVER, some of our folks, due to a computer glitch, did not receive that letter.  If you didn’t receive that letter and card, please let us know and we’ll get one to you.

But to get back to the early part of this email, the early results of the fund raising part of our 50^th Anniversary Building Plans reflect that there are some happy, grateful and generous people in our congregation!  To date a total of $300,00 has been spoken for, both in gifts and commitments.  

If you have any questions or input about the project or giving opportunities please feel free to call the church office (772-567-2253).    Also, please plan on coming to our Spring congregational meeting on Sunday May 29 at 9:45am, between the services, in the sanctuary.  At that meeting we’ll have an update on both the building and fund raising progress and be able to point out what will be happening.

So as these early days of Easter unfold and as we continue to move into this 50th year of letting our light shine here at Our Savior, we have a lot for which to be grateful and some wonderful opportunities to be generous.  That sounds like the makings of some pretty happy people, as we work together and combine our gifts to reflect the Light and Love of the Risen Christ among us!  J

See you in church!     Pastor Jack Diehl +     www.oursaviorelca.com

As we head into the last couple weeks of Lent here are a couple of reminders: this will be the last Wednesday for our Lent meals and mid week services. Lunch following the 11am service and supper beginning at 6pm before the 7pm service. Just this morning at our Men's Breakfast someone said he wasn't much in favor of these "sand art" messages for Lent when he first heard about them, but after seeing them, he changed his mind, and said how engaging and meaningful they've been. Even if you haven't been to any of the Wednesday services yet, you have one more opportunity this Wednesday to see what we've been talking about. And the setting "Holden Evening Prayer" which we use on Wednesday evening, is beautiful and meaningful in and of itself. Hope you can join us.




This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday. Three of our youngsters will be celebrating their First Communion at the 8:30 service, and we will be celebrating a Baptism as well.



During the Sunday School hour, Pastor Shelly's husband, Kent Annan will be leading a discussion on his new book, "After Shock". This class will meet in the west end of the Fellowship Hall.



Watch next week for our detailed Holy Week schedule. (Or check out our website: www.oursaviorelca.com)



These last couple of weeks we've been saying "Good-bye" to a lot of our seasonal folks. If you are numbered among those, may your travels be safe and your summer be blessed, til we see you again next season! One of the real blessings of being a congregation here in Florida is having a real sense of being a part of the extended Body of Christ, sometimes with many miles between us, but still connected. As the one old favorite hymn goes, "Blest be the tie that binds, our hearts in Christian love…".



So, whether you are near or far, may these last days of Lent be a blessing to you and may our Lenten journey bring us closer to our Lord and to each other…even if miles separate us.



Living in God's amazing grace, Pastor Jack Diehl +