FEBRUARY 2010
Dear friends,
Mid-January seems to have become my customary vacation time over these years, and this year was no exception. I traveled to beautiful St. Thomas the first week of vacation and Mark and I enjoyed smooth plane rides there and back again, plenty of sunshine while we swam and snorkeled around the islands, and beautiful sunsets over the beaches most nights. It has also been wonderful to have a second week at home to get caught up on household stuff as I prepare for the coming months at our church.
So soon after Christmas and Epiphany, it seems a bit out of sync that I’m already thinking about Easter., But, as you know, the liturgical calendar guides us from one season in Christ’s life to the next year after year. But before I move too quickly into Lent and Easter, let me invite you to pause and reflect on the past year of our church life together.
Our worship services, combining both tradition and innovation, our solid Christian education programs, our increased stewardship, and further building repair and renovation development, as well as the exceptional mission activities of our members all give us so many reasons to feel good and confident about the future of our church. I am reminded of the story between Moses and Joshua. Although Moses led the Israelites to the Promised Land, he never entered it. He was only shown glimpses of it. Joshua, Moses’ successor, was the one who helped the people settle their new homeland. It was Joshua’s call from God to organize the people, to help them develop governance, divide the land, and establish worship spaces for God. This was no easy task, as this new generation had been raised among those who wandered in the desert with Moses for forty years. They had only known a nomadic life, so settling was new to them.
Our congregation is made up of long-term members, and those who have become a part of our community of faith over the last six years, coming together to worship God. Many who are still newer have heard about the sense of wandering in the desert that was experienced amongst our congregation in years gone by. You have all entered a time of Joshua ministry in which it is this generation of worshippers who are called to establish new governance, divide the tasks, and establish worship spaces for God in this new church and in our lives. May this year ahead be one in which we prosper together through all of the seasons.
Blessings, Rev. Dr. Mary Louise Gifford