It is Lent season as I write this, and one of my favorite parts of this time of year is to frequently visit the Lenten Lunch series at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in historic downtown Birmingham , Alabama . This breathtakingly beautiful church is known throughout the city for its world-renowned daily guest speakers during Lent. (They're also well-known for their menu, too, particularly the chicken tetrazzini and tomato aspic.)

I had the pleasure last week of hearing The Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. George L. Carey , who became the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury in 1991, serving 70 million Anglicans around the world until his retirement in 2002.

He spoke on the topic of joyful Christianity. He told the parable of the great supper (Luke 14:15-24), and how each guest made excuses for not attending the supper. Ultimately, the attendees would be ones pulled from the streets who would truly appreciate being there and partaking of the feast.

He compared this to the excuses made for not attending church, with those making the excuses thinking that it's not going to be a "fun" time. He urged us to remember that church attendance is not a burden or a grudging obligation but rather a joyful experience that should be looked forward to with happy anticipation.

After the sermon, I went home and retrieved Warren Wiersbe's Be Joyful from my bookshelf. This study on Philippians came highly recommended to me, but I hadn't yet had a chance to read it. I started reading it that day, with a resolve this spring to become a more joyful Christian.

Pastors, create a joyful buzz in your church! Get your congregation excited about attending and encourage them to spread the word of the joy of church to others.

Speaking of joy, we're excited to present to you our 2005 Buyer's Guide. I hope this issue is one that you will keep on your bookshelf during this next year. We have worked throughout the past year to compile the most comprehensive resource of companies that provide the products and services that you need to efficiently and effectively operate your church.

I'm always interested in hearing from you. You can reach me at jill@religiousproductnews.com .

God Bless,

Jill Pinheiro

P.S. Don't forget that we're looking for interesting church signs to feature in upcoming issues of the magazine. Does your church have an innovative, inspiring or just plain interesting message on your church sign? If so, take a picture and e-mail it to me. Please include the name and location of your church.