Family Ministry Corner

I can hardly believe it has been a year since I have been in this position. So much has happened this previous year to be thankful to God for. It has been a tremendous joy sitting across tables from you all talking about our life as parents and encouraging one another to faithfulness. Watching the kids reflect on the Apostle's Creed throughout the year in Junior Catechesis was a gift to me as they offered insights and demonstrated faith which I was taught by. Sharing in the Pentecost celebration and seeing the ways in which our children desire to grow in their life in Christ was something I wish I could share with the entire congregation. 

This position has been such a source of blessing in my life and I have often remarked to Father Benji that if the Lord kept me here for the rest of my working life, I would be more than content. Thank you for your grace, your encouragement, your patience, and your flexibility as I have settled into my role this first year. Through moments of doubts, hesitation, and uncertainty your prayers and your love have been a source of sustenance for me as the Lord has established me on solid footing.

I am beyond eager for this next year and to see all the Lord has in store for the life of our church and our families. I look forward to seeing how God will increase our knowledge of his word and how he will continue to transform our lives through it. I am praying that through our witness in our communities and to our neighbors that more people will come to know Christ and the hope, joy, and peace that only he can offer. More than anything, I am praying this year for our love for Christ to grow exponentially. Everything we desire in our life in Christ, our obedience, our joy, our gospel witness, flows from this fundamental root.

There is an icon which sits above my computer in my office. In it, Jesus is seated and he has three children with him. One child is nuzzled peacefully in the comfort of his embrace. Another is holding flowers, looking up at him with a radiant admiration. The last is standing beside Jesus, calm, confident, and focused on Christ, almost as if he is eagerly waiting to see what he might do next. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this icon and reflecting on it. It has become a place of grounding for myself and how I think about the children of our church and all of our parents. As we consider all that is next, the deepest desire of my heart is that we would embrace Christ in the way these children do and that our children would come to do the same. If every program fails and nothing seems to go the way we hope, if we all come to love Christ more deeply and more intimately than we did the previous year, we will rejoice greatly in the radical, grace-driven success of the year. 

Please join me in eager expectation for all the Lord will do this next year. I'm praying for you and your family to love Christ more and more this next year and I would ask you to please do the same for mine.