From the Pastor…
This is the final “From the Pastor” column I’ll write for The Column. How do I sum up 14 years of ministry with Old Pine? I’m not sure that I can. The memories are rich: picnics and potlucks and flea markets, meetings and counseling, visits at home and in the hospital and nursing home, retreats and classes, discussions and silence, weddings and baptisms, singing and praying and preaching, candles and the creche, lilies and poinsettias, burials and remembering the saints who have died, seminary interns, budgets and visions, Pearlington and Habitat, Saturday for Seniors and Jazz Vespers . . . the list goes on and on and on.
Woven throughout these memories is the Spirit of God - always blowing new life into the Old Pine congregation, always calling us forward to follow. Old Pine is a congregation that follows the Spirit’s leading and responds to the Spirit’s prodding. You venture into new mission opportunities, you expand in education, you explore in worship - all the while, following the Spirit.
God’s Spirit is now leading you to a new place - unknown for now and unrevealed. Trust the Spirit - remember how the Spirit has led you in the past and trust the Spirit to lead you now. There are great opportunities and adventures waiting for you - opportunities to share the wealth of your resources with those who need them - adventures in deepening the strength and vitality of this community of faith.
You are a special community. God has done great things here, and will continue to do great things here. Thank you for the opportunity to walk with you these last 14 years. It has been an honor and a privilege. You have received the gifts I offer, challenged me to grow, forgiven me when I stumbled and together we have rejoiced in the good work God has done in and through us. “My” ministry is really a misnomer - it is “our” ministry.
May God continue to bless you with faith, courage, and joy. “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)