The LINK: 12/23
To my new friends at Congo Pres,
Grace and peace! I am so grateful for such a joyous and good start as we begin this new season together. From our first worship services to the Installation Service, to the different groups I’ve been privileged to visit, I am so grateful for these first steps together as your pastor as we enter into the next season of ministry at Congo Pres.
I know that this church, and perhaps each of you, has been in some period of waiting. Maybe it is waiting on news about loved ones, or your health, or just wondering about the next pastor. I bet you’re also waiting on what will this church be and do in the fu-ture. You’re well-suited for this next season of the Church calendar. In December, we will be waiting just a little bit longer, for Advent is the season of waiting on God. As God’s people awaited their Messiah (think: “Chosen One”), God showed up in the un-expected, helpless baby born to an unmarried, teenage girl in a little town that was-n’t known for much. (As the sarcastic disciple Nathaniel put it: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” John 1:46)
Advent is that season where God’s people remember that as much as we are called to worship, to pray, to serve, to love or to follow, we are called to wait, and to wait for the unexpected. When we start to feel a little restless, or bored, or angry, or whatever comes to the surface when we stay still, in this season we wait. We wait for many things: joy, hope, peace, love. And in this season, we confess that God is the one who gives these (and more), and that the gifts of God cannot be forced. We wait for these things to be given by the God who promises to be with us (Emmanuel), to save us (Savior), to help us (Prince of Peace), and to be faithful to us (the Son of God).
You are a people practiced in waiting, and I now wait with you as your pastor. As these days get darker, we will wait together. We wait until that day when we cele-brate that beautiful mystery of God being made human among us in the Incarnation, when curiously, after the light of Christ is born to us, the days start to get a little bit lighter.
As I’m new, feel free to reach out. I’d love to meet at church, or over coffee, or on a walk to get to know one another and hear your story. My email is ada-mo@congopreschurch.org, and you’re always invited to call the office to set some-thing up. I look forward to meeting with you.
With hope, joy, peace, and love,