Pastor Chris' Letter June 2018


Dear Trinity Family,
It sometimes feels like time flies. As I prepare to leave for the Annual Conference of the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church, I recognize that I am finishing my third year here at Trinity Church and beginning my fourth year of ministry here in Kendallville. I thank each of you for welcoming me and my family to Trinity.  It has been my joy to serve with this community over the last three years, and I look forward to the time ahead as we continue on this journey together.
When I was on vacation, I had a great moment of clarity for the blessing that I have received to be your pastor. We were in Scottsdale, AZ and we happened to be able to connect with an old friend from seminary. It was a marvelous time for Michelle and me to reacquaint ourselves with him and for him to get to meet our son for the first time. The moment of clarity came when he invited us to see the church he was serving in Scottsdale.  (That’s what pastors do on vacation, look at other churches.) When he started telling us about the church and opened their worship space, he lit up. The excitement of the opportunity to be in ministry filled him with a joy and passion that cannot be described. Then he said “I can’t believe it, I get to serve here!”
My response to this excitement was not envy of the stuff at this church or of my friend’s joy but recalling the first time I walked into the worship spaces at Trinity Church thinking, “I can’t believe it, I get to serve here!” In this remembrance, Paul’s words came to mind that we were all brought to ministry for a time and place such as this. And because of this it has been, and continues to be, a great honor to walk with you on this journey of faith as we continue to let God use us at Trinity Church to show that we are FOR Kendallville.
And I do admit that somedays I forget this passion that leapt out of me when I first arrived, but it still does not take long to see what God is doing in our church, in each of you, and in our community to remind me of that joy that I had when I first arrived. I thank each of you for prayers, presence, gifts, and service that make this church great and I look forward to another year of walking on his journey with you together.


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