Have you ever thought about ants? According to the Arizona State University’s Ask a Biologist website “An ant colony is like a factory. Nestmates work together to convert resources (food) into products (more ants). This process is made more efficient through division of labor, where different individuals specialize in different jobs. The queen has the very specific role of laying eggs, which she spends most of her life doing. Worker ants perform other duties, often depending on their age. Younger ants work inside the nest, taking care of the queen and her brood. Older workers go outside to gather food and defend the nest against enemies. Despite her size and royal title, the queen doesn’t boss the workers around. Instead, workers decide which tasks to perform based on personal preferences, interactions with nestmates, and cues from the environment.”

In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 the Apostle Paul talks about how we all have different gifts given by God that we use for the common good. He continues in verses 12-31 to compare the church to a body. A body is made up of many parts and each part has a specific job. The ear doesn’t do the job of a nose.

Just as the ant colony is a community, All Saints’ is a community. We all have different gifts but in order for All Saints’ to grow and thrive, we all need to use our gifts for the common good.

In the annual report there are reports from the Chancel Guild, the Server’s Guild, Sideperson/Greeting Ministry, Chalice Bearers, Christian Education Committee, Book Club, Youth Ministry, Prayer Chain, Card Ministry, Screening, Telephone Committee, Faithworks, Deacon’s Cupboard, Christmas Hampers, Community Garden, Truth & Reconciliation Committee, Bazaar, Hospitality (which includes Sunday and Funeral), St. Margaret’s Guild, and Men’s Group. In addition to these reports, in my report I also wrote about Intercessors and Pastoral Visitors.

Each one of these ministries could use additional people to help their specific part of the body work more efficiently. Please feel free to reach out to me about where you feel you are being called to participate in. In my paragraph about the ants it says “This process is made more efficient through division of labor, where different individuals specialize on different jobs”. Just think about the chaos that would happen if a few of those ants decided they were going to stop doing their job. The colony would not survive.