Thank you for the surprise ovation at the beginning of the January 2nd service, the celebration of my first anniversary with you all, the personal comments about our first year together, the paper products and the cake. It was all a complete surprise and a wonderful gift. I am very grateful for your warm welcome of my ministry among you, our new home in Yorktown, and your love and care of my family. I have truly enjoyed our time together, been awed by the depth of your faith, felt privileged to stand by you in grief and loss as well as celebration and joy, felt warmly welcomed into many homes, and been energized by all that God is doing in and through our church. I am thankful for the call to be your pastor, and I have grown in my own faith and life through knowing you. What a blessing you are!

As the New Year begins, I am looking forward with great anticipation to what will happen next and the many ways we will share the good news of God’s life-giving presence with one another and our community. Last year was a phenomenal start with so much to celebrate. The image that comes to mind is of my children as toddlers. I would lift them high in the air and then whoosh them down to the ground. Without fail, they would say to me afterward, “Do it again!” That’s what I say about our ministry in this New Year. Let’s do it again! Let’s continue to build God’s vision of faithfulness for us: a community of faith, open to all, called to follow Jesus Christ, seeking to meet the spiritual and physical needs of our world with Joy, support and love.

Thank you for being a living mission of God’s good news.