“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28)
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I am excited to be your interim pastor during this time of change at St. Paul’s It’s important to know that the ministry of this congregation will continue with the same dedication to the Holy Gospel and enthusiasm fo the Word that has gone before. The love of God and the grace of Jesus Christ will carry us into the future as St. Paul’s prepares for the next chapter of its important mission and ministry. We’ll walk together in this time, bound by our baptism into the death and life of Jesus, our Savior and Lord, and joined together in our love for God and one another.
I am looking forward to meeting everyone and sharing in thoughts, prayers and hopes. In normal times we might meet in your home or over coffee or a meal. With the requirement to maintain distancing to keep everyone healthy, however, we’ll try connecting by phone and via “Zoom” or Skype. Please feel free to contact me at anytime. My phone number and email are listed in the bulletin and in this newsletter.
As we walk together through these strange times, St. Paul’s is not alone in experiencing a transition and time of change. The world around us is coping with the pandemic of Covid-19, even as many citizens here have risen up to demand an end to racism and a change in how our law enforcement agencies operate.
If you’re like me, you are perhaps feeling unsettled and uncertain as we look around us. A high school graduate interviewed on NPR described how she and her classmates felt when she said, “The future looks murky and dark and we don’t know what to expect.” That probably describes how things look even to us adults.
In the midst of all this uncertainty, Jesus accompanies us and promises He will not leave us to fend for ourselves. He calls us to lay our fears and our uncertainty, our concerns, and regrets, and even our hopes at His feet and to accompany him courageously into whatever awaits, because he is always with us.
When we are weary and frazzled, He is with us. When we are excited and Joyous, He is with us. And when we mourn and feel beset with darkness, He is still there. It’s His grace that carries us from day to day, into the New Creation of God’s in breaking Kingdom.
As we share this walk under the loving umbrella of God’s love and grace, let’s sustain one another in prayer and seek his will in our lives, separately and together.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Bob