Merry Christmas, Church-Community

Dear Friends in Christ,

As we near the close of this year and begin to look toward 2026, I find myself filled with deep gratitude—for God, and for you.

Thank you for your faithful engagement in the life of this congregation. I am grateful for the seriousness with which you approach biblical study and theological reflection, for the way you show up curious, thoughtful, and willing to wrestle with the depth of our faith. I am thankful for your participation in worship—your prayers, your voices, your presence—and for the many ways you serve both this church and our wider community with generosity and care.

Again and again, I am reminded that the church is not simply a place we attend or a set of programs we sustain, but a community called by Christ and shaped by the Spirit of God. You embody that truth. In your relationships, your questions, your acts of compassion, and your commitment to one another, I see a living expression of the body of Christ.

As we look toward the year ahead, my hope is that we might step into 2026 with a renewed sense of calling—as if we are being invited to be the church again for the first time. Not because we are starting over, but because the Holy Spirit continues to make all things new.

May we do so with a strong and abiding sense of church-community, trusting that life together in Christ is something uniquely meaningful and deeply formative. In a world that so often fragments and isolates, being part of a community of faith is a rare and holy gift.

Please know how grateful I am for who you are as a congregation, and how thankful I am to God for the call to serve among you. It is a privilege to walk with you, to worship with you, and to bear witness together to God’s grace at work in our midst.

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Michael