Pious and boring

Dear Friends in Christ -

When I re-read my blog post from yesterday, I wasn't much pleased with it. I wrote it in a sleep-deprived early morning rush, and upon re-reading it sounds a little, well, pious and boring.

I do love the Feast of All Saints. It's a day when I get to celebrate that as Christians, our team ultimately wins. Every time. Even when it doesn't look like we're going to. Even when nobody thinks whatever we're going through will work out.

There was a real sense of God's presence in the 10:00 a.m. service. Right in the middle of our worship together, we did two things: 1) we baptized four new Christians - Shara, Jeremy, Annabelle and Amery - and 2) we said goodbye to Jerry and Marybeth Banks. The Word of God at the beginning of the service and the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the end of the service wrapped our joys and sorrows together like warm arms. Everlasting arms.

The sadness at seeing Marybeth and Jerry leave is almost unbearable. They've been here for so long and have contributed so much. How will we get along without them? Not only do we wonder who will do all the work, but also we feel a little less certain about how the next adventures will go. We felt more confident when all the heavy hitting players were in place.

But now, as the Banks move to their next calling, we welcome the newest ones who are called to be here, worshipping with us, fellowshipping with us, serving with us. How we will care for each other and work alongside each other, where and how we will see the Glory of God along the way is anybody's guess.

Only this is for sure: whatever's around the corner is likely to awe-inspiring, not stuffily pious, and full of adventure, not boring. Not in the least.

Faithfully yours,
Janet+