Last Sunday, Pastor Alyce preached a great sermon based on some of the words of the Prophet Isaiah:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
(Isaiah 43:18-19)
What a timely word it was for us at Memorial when Alyce reminded us that: “Change is all around us and never ends.”
It surely is, and it never does!
This weekend will bring more change as another brand-new chapter in the 201-year journey of this grace-filled family begins. On Sunday morning, we will welcome Rev. Rachel Williams, her husband, Nick, and their son, Austin, as they become part our church family, and as Rachel begins her ministry here as our new Associate Pastor. I am more than a little relieved to have got to this moment (it has been a crazy two months since Pastor Carrie’s departure in June), and I am also very excited to see and be part of the new thing that God will be doing in and through Rachel’s ministry here.
This Sunday morning, I will “preach her in” to this new season of ministry with a sermon based on some of the opening words of 2nd Timothy, where the young pastor is invited to “rekindle the gift of God that is within…” I will invite Rachel to rekindle the gifts of God that are within her AND I will be inviting you all to do exactly the same.
Change certainly is all around us and it never ends. But even in the midst of transitions such as the one we are in now, God remains with us, sustaining us by God’s grace, and God is always calling us to keep journeying forward in the calling God has given us.
I am excited for this new season, and I hope you are too.
Oh…and just one more thing. I want to give a very special word of thanks to our whole church staff team. In a summer that has seen the loss of a key staff team member, a health scare for another, and in which I have needed some extra support as things play out at home with my mother, this amazing church staff team have worked hard to ensure smooth passage through it all. It is not an overstatement when I write that we have the best and most dedicated people on this team. If you see any of them at church this weekend, why not take a moment to tell them they are doing a great job and thank them for their work. Blessings,
Pastor Charlie
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