Dear Friends in Christ,
Yesterday, our nation came together to choose its course for the next four years. I’d imagine some of you are celebrating, while others are fearing for our future. Regardless of your preferred outcome, elections represent a time of great change. So much of our life together remains in flux, as it always has been. It is more acutely felt.
While everything in our life must change—it is the very nature of life itself—God’s love is eternal. Since before the dawn of time, God was all there was. God made room in eternity for the universe to exist. God created us in love as God’s partners in a perfect creation. When we turned in sin, God sent prophet after prophet to call us back to partnership.
God’s persistent love culminates in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. God became one of us in a poor baby born into a feed stall. His family were refugees, fleeing Herod’s atrocities to Egypt. He healed the sick without prejudice, blessed those excluded by society, and fed the hungry. When his life of love challenged the powers that be, he was brutally executed on a cross.
Jesus Christ is risen. We, the church, are Christ’s body, healing and feeding and blessing in Jesus’ name. No matter what happens in our civic life, our church will continue to do what we do. While the world changes, and we change with it, our mission remains the same. We continue in the covenant made with us at our baptisms:
“to live among God’s faithful people,
to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper,
to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed,
to serve all people, following the example of Jesus,
and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”
This is Christ’s church, and we are here for each other. Opportunities for prayer, study, and conversation in the coming week include our regularly-scheduled Bible Studies tonight and (most) every Wednesday at 7:00 PM and Monday at 1:00 PM. I am available by phone, text, or email for conversation or to set up an appointment for pastoral care. You and your family remain in my prayers.
Yours in faith,
Pastor Joe
Email: pastor@ststephenselca.org
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