August 2025

We live in interesting times. Interesting can be good, or it can be bad, or it can simply be interesting. Some will see the social situation of the country and feel it is the best thing to have happened for the country, while others will mourn the devastation. Some will see conversations about dissolving the Yoke as a horrible tragedy, a travesty and abandonment of faith, others will see it as a conscious decision to seek a better way. Some saw the crucifixion as all those bad things, others had a party at the foot of the cross while the women wept nearby. But they didn't have all the facts, that God sent Jesus to share the love God had tried to share with us before Jesus, that Jesus understood that in showing that love he would anger the powers that be, and that would lead to his death. He faced that with grace and faith, with love and courage.

The wonder of this time we live in is that the God whose love sent Jesus to teach us is still present with us, still offering love, grace and faith. Sometimes the road we walk is rocky. It's difficult to walk, to navigate with all those pointy stones underfoot. I raised a point in a recent meeting that I think can offer some hope in the midst of the apparent chaos. At a time before we started walking together, the congregations were part of a multiple-church parish. That possibility is still present! There are other churches struggling with reduced numbers and finances. It might be a possibility to revive such an arrangement!

We all know the future is uncertain, that death is also a part of this process we call life, that an ending means a new beginning. Resurrection followed crucifixion. So, I urge each of you to hold to the faith of Christ Jesus, open yourselves to the power and courage of the Spirit and to trust in the creative power of God who is both father and mother to us. Pray! Pray without ceasing! Pray with open hearts to hear the call of God, to act on God's call to you. We are each and all called to serve in many varied ways.

The peace and love of God sustain you! You are special people, humans all, fractured and broken, and you are each and every one loved by God, by the Savior and by the Spirit. Peace!

-Rev. Howard Hunt