Dear Friends,

The excitement of a fresh idea that seems to ignite curiosity and imagination can easily lead to change, and change is often difficult for us to navigate.  However, the possibilities that lie on the other side of change are sometimes too important to ignore.  The present culture in which we live seems to be crying out for fresh ideas that will bring about change.  Despite the risk of its uncertainty, we long for change in the pace and priorities of our world.  Jam-packed schedules, the need to have more, and be more push us into a rhythm of life that saps our strength and tests our values.  So we look for ways to balance our lives – to cope with the stress of modern-day living.

In his book, The Centered Life, Jack Fortin challenges his readers with the notion that balancing life might not bring about the deep life-giving change we seek, for we will forever be in the business of trying to get the “right” balance.   Rather, a centered life, grounded in our faith in God and lived out at work, at home, and in our communities provides the rich soil for creating a new and renewing way to live our lives with meaning and purpose, as we reclaim our vocation as Christians in the world.

In the year ahead, we will focus our best energy and creativity on providing opportunities to encounter the meaning of a centered life.  This is not just a new program meant to fill in the time slots of our congregation’s life together.  This is meant to be an opportunity to encounter a way of life that can be life-changing for us and for our congregation.  It is way too easy to see our life of faith as an add-on to our busy schedule.  Instead, we hope this fresh approach, this new idea of challenging ourselves to discover the center of our lives will lead to new priorities, a more deliberate pace, and a surer confidence in our call to be followers of Christ, centered in a life of love and forgiveness and grace.

Please join us in this effort. And discover the power of the Spirit at work in this community.  Who knows what will happen …”by God’s amazing grace!”

Pastor Susan