Nine years ago this month, Trinity voted to call me to be your new pastor. So much has happened over those nine years, it feels like a few different lifetimes. Much of it couldn’t have been predicted. Nine years ago, a crowded field of Republicans vying for the party nomination was led by Ben Carson. I think many of us expected the field to settle around the top candidates with governing experience. There was even a Bush in the contest! I don’t think any of us would have foreseen what has been happening in national politics since then, and it has shaped our context of ministry.
Who would ever have predicted a global pandemic that would totally disrupt every aspect of our lives? When COVID first hit, we couldn’t imagine that we’d be closed for more than a couple of weeks. Prior to COVID, I think we had an awareness that our online presence could be stronger, and a desire to be able to broadcast services, for example, at Sunnyside. But who would have thought that we’d soon be streaming every single worship service? It still boggles my mind that we only started opening up for hybrid worship a full year and a half into the pandemic - and yet, I am so grateful for the wisdom of our COVID task force and the understanding of the congregation. It was the right decision.
Looking at the membership in the congregation, we could have predicted seasons of increasing loss as our founding members, and nearly founding members, continued to age. As hearty as we are, we are still living in earthly tents. But maybe we didn’t think about just how heavy this would be, and how much Trinity would be changed.
Today is All Saints Day, and we’ll celebrate it together on Sunday. We will name those who have died, and we welcome you to bring pictures to share on the communion table. It feels especially appropriate as a prelude to Dedication/Stewardship Sunday and Thanksgiving. We give thanks for the saints who have gone before us, who have shaped us and this church into what we are today. We give thanks for their faithful stewardship, and we’re reminded of our connection to previous and future generations as we give. I’m grateful for these invitations to grieve, to remember, and to commit to ways we will use our gifts for God’s ministry through Trinity.
At the retreat, we were invited to bring something to the table representing ourselves, our hobbies, or our gifts. I loved Lauren Strawderman’s contribution - her watch! She celebrated being able to give her time in ways that she hasn’t been able to give between work and family caregiving. Teresa Harris shared a children’s book - “What do you do with a Problem?” - and called herself a problem for all of the ideas her brain can’t seem to turn off. But those ideas - all of the creativity and gifts - are such a blessing! This Harvest season we have heard each week from someone sharing what they bring to the table - ways that they volunteer their time and gifts beyond the congregation. It’s been interesting and inspiring.
What I’m saying is this: in the midst of everything - all this (picture me waving my hands to encompass all the things) and more - God is continuing to work in and through us, and through this church. We will continue to change, and Trinity will look different as more of the people who have made Trinity so special now cheer us on from the great cloud of witnesses. I believe that God is still calling us, opening to us “new pathways through the eternal newness of the living Christ,” and that challenges and “worldly insecurity” actually “enable us to continue in an open-ended search for the will of God, wondering and eagerly listening to what God will say to our church tomorrow.” (https://www.trinitypresbyterianharrisonburg.org/what-is-god-saying-to-trinity)
I’m so grateful for the work of the Holy Spirit that brought us together nine years ago. It is a joy and a privilege to work alongside you all, as we seek to be Christ’s faithful disciples together.
Grace and Peace,
Stephanie
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