Pastor's Monthly Letter (February 2017)
A February Welcome!
Looking out of my church office window this morning, I see a silent movement of snowflakes dressing the ground. What can I say - it’s a picture-perfect Thomas Kinkade landscape! Kinkade was the late beloved Christian artist known for his ability to capture and so beautifully enhance light in his paintings.
This reminds me of a time at the end of the semester while I was at seminary, far and several states away in the warm and sunny Florida. Since it was a weekend, there were no classes or events scheduled. Even the library and chapel were both closed. Most students would therefore leave the campus in order to be reunited with their families. Having said this, I was usually the only remaining student left to my own activities. Without the means of transportation and (like most students) on a limited budget, you do what you can with what you’ve got, which you learn to appreciate and value anew.
Back then, like this morning, the snowflakes were falling down. I recall it was the first snow I’d seen in years! So imagine my exuberant joy when I hurried out of the empty dormitory building with the excitement of a young child experiencing the first snowfall – taking it all in! I walked slowly, intentionally dragging and plowing my feet through the snow. I made footprints, and I admit entertained the thought of making snow angels as well! This moment in time will always stay with me, yes indeed, one like that of a picture-perfect Kinkade moment. God grants us these times to explore and to enjoy. The more we treasure them, the stronger we’ll keep them alive in our hearts where they are treasured as memories.
As we journey through the last weeks of Epiphany, with so many uncertainties the world is facing, God’s love is the never-changing certainty that we must hold on to. God’s mission of a world united must also be our mission. Despite any and every of our differences, it’s our uniqueness as the children of God that which sets us apart. As one in the Spirit, we are led and moved by one and the same.
We’re already a couple of months into the new year, echoed by the previous liturgical season’s joyful message of peace to all people on earth. Christ’s coming among us is a sign and message to hold on to, that which unites us all, i.e., “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Indeed, you, I, and all people are created into the beautiful image of our Creator. We are part of the same fold, with goals to be achieved, and with dreams to be reached for ourselves and families. Though it may take a while, do not be discouraged. Goals and dreams are meant to be kept, lived, and sometimes re-lived.
In His Faithful Service,
Pastor Anette
