Letter to the Congregations: 17th October 2026

Our dear brethren,

The lady walked up to me and smiled as we shook hands. She had been meaning to talk to me. For some reason she and her husband hadn’t received any communication about serving at the Feast. They had served many times through the years, having kept the Feast of Tabernacles all across the country probably longer than I’ve been alive. For some reason they had felt skipped over and weren’t sure why. I greeted her and her husband warmly as the husband continued on to find seats for services. The lady’s smile faded as she opened up to me about how she was feeling.

“Someone told me I am too old to serve any more.” I was very shocked at this statement, but in my mind speculated as the reason behind it. I had hoped that the situation was some sort of misunderstanding and in reality whoever had told the lady that she was past her serving year didn’t mean exactly that. Was it someone who had recognized how much she and her husband had served through the years and was trying to let them know that it is okay to let someone else younger and stronger take up where they had left off?

From my own observations there are times when such a situation is applicable. One benefit of older (or we could say “more experienced) individuals being ready and willing to hand over serving obligations to others is that they are still able to help train the next generation of servants as they hand things off. In such a case there are always various ways that people of all sorts of ages and present capabilities can serve, even if the way they serve might change through the years. In the case of this more experienced couple, I think they were aware of their own limitations, but still wanted to be useful and to serve even if it meant helping in a way they might not have thought was needed.

Even though she was hurt, the lady was polite enough not to disclose to me who had made such a statement to her. And I wasn’t sure I should reveal my speculations to her, or dig deeper to see if there was some kind of misunderstanding, especially without the other party present. We were at the Feast, there were capable people desiring to help serve their brethren, and there were plenty of needs to go around. If some were already filled then I’m sure we could find other needs still open. In fact from that conversation forward the couple served regularly alongside other brethren each and every day. And from that day forward that lady’s smile was bigger and bigger. I was impressed and inspired by the willingness of this couple to serve in whatever way was needed regardless of their age (I didn’t ask how old they were).

This situation reminds me of several passages written by the apostle Paul where he describes the life of a Christian as running a race. His words, meant to encourage us to continue forward all the way to the end, describe a race of endurance that we must choose to keep running: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it” (1 Corinthians 9:24). Not that we are in competition with one another but rather competing against the “old man” in ourselves who would rather just give up and take the easy way out. Later in his life Paul wrote to young Timothy describing the fact that he was glad he had finished the race (not that he was in fact finished but he was older and nearing the end of his life) and had “kept the faith,” knowing God has a “crown of righteousness” in His kingdom prepared for him (see 2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Although the ways we serve within God’s Church may change through the years, we must always be prepared to continue forward in service to both our God and His other children. By doing so we are fulfilling our calling and becoming imitators of Jesus Christ (and others who follow Him) in being living sacrifices, willing to endure to the end regardless of what may come.

Our love is with you,

Lewis VanAusdle

Pastor, United Church of God

NYC, NJ, CT, Malawi, Zimbabwe