Dear friends in Christ,

 

Already in my short time as your Bridge Pastor, I have felt welcomed, prayed for, and encouraged in this ministry. Last Sunday’s celebration of Pastor Sarah was a wonderful tribute to her nine years as your pastor. It is clear that we will all be grieving in large and small ways the ending of Pastor Sarah’s time among us. Please hold her and her family in your prayers as they move through the various transitions her new call entails.

 

Lent began on Ash Wednesday, February 18th. It is the season of the church year in which we prepare to celebrate Easter. We do so by first recognizing our own sinfulness, our own frailty, our own dependence upon God. And alongside this, like two sides of the same coin, we celebrate God’s invitation to ALL to join in the feast Christ has prepared. The latter scripture we used as our focal point, during the three-congregation Ash Wednesday service led by Pastor Susan Tindall and held in our chapel. This Sunday’s sermon will be given by the Rev. Robin Garvin, a retired pastor who serves the Presbytery in a part-time role supporting congregations in transition.

 

My work as your Bridge Pastor also began this week. A Bridge Pastor shepherds the congregation and Session through that short period of time between the departure of the former pastor and the arrival of the next pastoral leader. Along with assistance from the Presbytery, I will be guiding the Session’s discernment of the skills and gifts they foresee being most helpful in their next pastor. That process will lead to a job description, posting, and interviews. It is usual that this process takes 2-3 months, so my initial contract with you is from February 16th through May 17th. The contract can be ended early if the next pastoral leader is available to start sooner than May 18th. It can also be extended, with the permission of all parties (Session, Bridge Pastor, and Presbytery.) 

 

Another thing to know about bridge pastors is that we are usually no more than half- time. My contract is for half-time. That means that I will be preaching half the Sundays, though assisting in worship on most of the other Sundays. The Session and I have set expectations regarding the items that Pastor Sarah routinely did as Pastor. We now have a list that shows what items will be covered by me, what will be covered with the assistance of others, and what few things will be set aside until the next pastoral leader arrives.

 

Starting in March, you can find me in the church office on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. I will be working from home on Thursdays. Feel free to contact me through the phone number in the church directory, by email, or through the church office. I am available for pastoral care, but this is one of those items that I am sharing with others. The Deacons and Pastor Emeritus Patty Campbell-Schmitt will also be assisting. Please contact me to arrange for pastoral care.

 

With prayers for the needs of the congregation and the world,

 

Pastor Amy 

Our Lenten image shows a maze in the foreground with a cross seen through fog in the distance, reflecting that our Lenten journey will not be a straight and simple march to the cross. Each week, this image will change, showing a different vantage point (as though we've entered into the maze and are working our way towards the cross). 

 

In our readings from John’s gospel, we’ll encounter Jesus opening the eyes of his friends and disciples to who he is and what he is calling them to do, and then the cowardice of Peter’s denial of Jesus and of Pilate’s giving in to the crowd’s call for crucifixion.

 

We invite you to consider your own faith journey and what Lent means to you as we come to the cross together over the next few weeks.

 

Psalm 104:27-30

 

Psalm 51:7-12