Meanings From St. Joseph Pastoral Council

Greetings from St. Joseph Pastoral Council. We are truly grateful to be celebrating on-hundred and twenty-five years of Christian stewardship in the Greater Pensacola Community. We look forward to the future, and strive to continue to build and serve another one hundred and twenty-five years and beyond.

Celebrating a church anniversary is very significant. It is a significant because it is a time used to honor our God and Father by expressing gratitude to Him for His mercies and goodness towards us throughout the years. It is also significant because we take the time to recognize our workers for their dedication commitment and hard work. Lastly, it is significant because we take the time to reminisce and assess our past and look towards the future. On this our 125th Anniversary, our theme is “looking back, looking ahead, moving forward.” Isaiah 43:18-19 says, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

God has kept us through good times and bad times. He has given us the faith to stand, we laughed, we cried, we have rejoiced. We have seen members grow from a tiny tot to adults, having their own children and grandchildren. God has kept us and carried us thus far. While we have had many successes, we have also had failures. These successes and failures, we should learn from, we must look at our past and reflect, we must look at our past and identify our strengths and our weaknesses, ask ourselves what we did wrong and what we did right. We must savor the accomplishments, rejoice and give God thanks. The failures we should also give thanks and use them as stepping stones, but as the scripture encourages us to let us let go of the past. Instead, let us look ahead, let us move