EASTER LETTER
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. -- Proverbs 3:5-6
Easter, 2020
Dear Friends,
Earlier this year when we still could travel, Debbie and I drove to Savannah, Georgia for a wedding. Stopping off along the way, we visited family on St. Simon’s Island. On touring the island and learning about the history of this beautiful place, we came upon Christ Episcopal Church, practically adjacent to Fort Frederica. I was delighted to learn that while Savannah was the first missionary location for John Wesley, this church and fort was the first pastoral assignment for his younger brother, Charles. This brought me back to my church history lessons, where I studied how these two famous brothers did not fare so well in their first calling in the Colonies. In fact, Charles returned to England after a short time, while John returned just over a year later rather abruptly following a disagreement. Depressed and feeling unsuccessful in ministry, John was ready to forgo his calling and follow another path. Not too long after, John was walking on Aldersgate Street in London when he experienced a life altering change of heart. One thing led to another, and, like Martin Luther some two hundred years before, John founded a bold, new way of practicing faith and worship. All simply by doing what he felt God was leading him to do. Today we call this new way the Methodist Church, and it has been a witness to the gospel around the world ever since.
We currently live in a time of uncertainty in dealing with the global coronavirus pandemic. I am quite sure we will get past this but at what cost, and what will the world look like when it is over? Yet when I think back to the great uncertainty John and Charles Wesley encountered when they were just getting started in the Colonies, my heart becomes strangely warmed as well. I realize that even when we think we are failing, God may just have better plans for us as we seek to follow. And is not this the Easter story? If anyone ever thought that life was over as they knew it, it would have been Jesus’ personally chosen disciples on the first Good Friday. But God knew better. And on the third day the world changed, and it has never been the same since. I know I never get everything right all the time, but I do know that God is at work in each of our lives to help us find our way. Thus as we seek to move forward into our future, may the grace of God and the promise of the gospel, forged from the fire of Good Friday and Easter, help us as we seek to live on and support each other in this time of need. And until the time when we are allowed to visit in person once again, blessings be upon you, your families, and the communities in which we live.
Pastor Bill
Anchored in the past, sharing Christ’s message today, and growing in faith into the future