From the Pastor

May 2009

Due to scheduling, I am writing this early Monday morning in Holy Week. This is an interesting time to be observing our congregation and to reflect on what has been taking place.

The past week has been one of "firsts," as the building nears completion. Last Wednesday, I led the first Confirmation class in one of the new classrooms. On Saturday, I put my chasuble on in the sacristy for the first time. On Saturday and Sunday, we gathered in the new narthex for the Passion Sunday procession—the first truly congregational gathering in that area. The combined Junior WinGs and Senior Choir was the first group to sing from the newly created "choir area," where the old kitchen used to be. After worship on Palm Sunday, some gathered in the expanded narthex again, for coffee brewed in the new kitchen.

So much has changed. So much is new. So much is different.

And yet, some very fundamental things remain just as they have always been. This is a community of faith grounded in the Word of God. This is a gathering of God’s people who take nourishment in that Word and in the holy meal, and in the fellowship and learning we engage in together. This is God’s church—and that has not changed. The building may be bigger. We may have more doors to walk through, more rooms to use, fresh paint, carpet, countertops, and tile to admire, and more light switches to try to locate, but the core of who we are and why we gather remains the same. We gather because God loves us, redeems us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and calls us to be witnesses in the world. Without these things, we have no reason to gather in the first place, and certainly no need for a building to use as a tool for ministry.

God has richly blessed us. We have been blessed to have a vibrant community of faith to call our church home. We have been blessed by a willingness to undertake this project and to trust in the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have been blessed by the overwhelming willingness of our members to support the process spiritually, physically, and financially. We have been blessed by the joy that has come of seeing the progress—even amidst the stresses of such a major project.

But we have been most richly blessed by the promises given to us in Jesus Christ, and revealed most powerfully to us during Holy Week and at Easter. We have been blessed to know that because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we have been changed—and made different and new in our Baptisms. These promises and knowledge, together with God’s people gathered in thanksgiving, are what make Holy Redeemer’s building a church. There is nothing new or different about that.

God’s blessings to you this Easter and always.

In Christ,
Pastor Brenda