St. Stephens Joins Holiness Tabernacle in the Celebration
By Sister DeAnna Pruitte
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Our Good Shepherd’s service on Saturday, December 17 was a huge success: financially and spiritually! It started with an awesome prayer from Elder Green, followed by a scripture from Deacon Howard reminding us how Christ died for us while we were yet in our sins (Romans 5:1-8). Our praise team added to the fire leading the congregation in “High and Lifted Up” and “No One Else.” As the fire grew and grew, Mother Cassidy, came with a dynamic welcome that lit the whole church on fire. After a quick praise break where Holiness Tabernacle (HTC) and St. Stephens church members shouted right alongside each other, Mother Tally of St. Stephens gave the response, singing her rendition of “Travelling Shoes.”
Sister DeAnna brought forth our purpose, remarking that the purpose had been altered by the Spirit of God. While it was originally to fellowship, raise money for our Good Shepherd, and honor the Good Shepherd of St. Stephens, our jurisdictional prelate, God had other plans and we were just along for the ride! The place was packed with both people and the Holy Ghost. God’s presence filled the room to remind us that our coming was not in vain.
HTC’s choir rendered the first selection, “Glory and Honor,” and was later followed by St. Stephens choir with “Lord I Thank You.” During the offering, we were told Bishop Thomas left specific instructions of what St. Stephens was to raise for our church and they delivered! Elder Hughes delivered the Word of God, ““Hope and Quietly Wait on the Lord” coming from Lamentations 3:21-24. The message was concluded with a soul stirring solo, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” Immediately after, Elder Mabry came to do the altar call and explained that that had been one of his favorite songs because it reminded him that no matter how far he got in life, he wasn’t deserving of any of it, but instead it was only because of God’s mercy and faithfulness.
After God was through having His own way with us, we were able to gather ourselves back together for final presentations. Mother Thomas was presented with two large poinsettia plants in her absence and, along with his speaker’s offering, Bishop Thomas was presented with a beautiful gift basket filled with his favorite food items. Leading the church in the final benediction, Elder Guilford reminded the church of the passage in Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”