Peace and Blessings to you, Beloved Church.

Ministry Together in Tough Times

Dear Church, What a gift it is to be your pastor — thank you for all that you continue to do as a community! We have had some really great moments in the past months, from a successful fall food drive to a lovely Carols & Cocoa service to a really special Christmas Eve. It is incredible that we get to be in ministry together, sharing the work of the Gospel as we love in the way of Jesus. It really is a privilege to be part of Messiah! I have also been noticing recently, though, that as our challenging financial situation has continued to grow, anxiety has also been building among us. This is of course normal, but I do want to make sure that we take a moment to pause and remember the abundance that we all have been given by God. God has called us here, together, for the sake of loving others, and God has given us the resources to carry that out. There will always be smoother seasons and rougher seasons of life, and sometimes that means some difficult changes, but the important thing is to remember that we are in it together and that God shows up even when we think we’ve hit the end of the road. Yes, we may have some hard decisions yet ahead of us, but we have weathered some really hard seasons already in the past years, and I trust that God will make a way through it with us, again.

As The Epiphany of Our Lord opens to us in the coming days, I offer this prayer from our hymnal resources to root us in God’s love and grace: Lord Christ, you came into the world as one of us and suffered as we do. As we go through the trials of life, help us to realize that you are with us at all times and in all things; that we have no secrets from you; and that your loving grace enfolds us for eternity. In the security of your embrace we pray. Amen.

c/o Pastor Paul