I belong to a church that is being formed by two congregations that have come together in their journey in Christ.  We are working toward a unity not yet accomplished. We are not alone in our struggle as many churches face the challenge of combining or clustering. But it is in Christ we remember that each of us, however large or small our congregation, has a voice, has a spirit to share. Some are much bolder than others and will be louder than thunder; some of us are quiet and humble and speak only when asked.  But we all have God on our side; we all are gifted by the Spirit.  We come together, each one of us with a song, a story, a personal journey with Christ, an interpretation of how we want to worship with Christ, and all this combines to build up the church.  We must reach out and not ignore the silent who feel their thoughts or deeds are not spiritual enough to share; we need to respect the value of everyone's relationship with Christ and their prophesy, always remembering, that in the congregations of the Lord, God is not a God of disorder, but a God of peace, and with peaceful recognition of all, we can grow our congregations faithfully in Christ.