Pastor's Midweek Message

Midweek Message w/o September 22, 2024

Sisters and brothers,

As the people of Israel prepared to cross the Jordan River into Canaan, Moses, who had led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness, died and went to be with the Lord, leaving Joshua to be the one to lead the people (Deuteronomy 34). Similarly, in the midst of a season of ministry to God’s people, Elijah was taken up on a whirlwind, and Elisha was left to carry on (2 Kings 2). And when Jesus arose from the grave, he spent 40 days among us before ascending to heaven, leaving everything in the hands of his disciples (Acts 1).

In each case, I can imagine the people felt like it was a season of loss and anxiety. The previous leaders are gone, with the future in the hands of a new generation. How are things going to turn out? Are we going to be OK?

It is the season in the life of our church where we are changing our leadership. Each autumn, United Methodist churches around Virginia hold their annual Charge Conference, when they elect new officers. For us at Bermuda Hundred UMC, we will be lifting up several new officers: I thank God for Jim Winn, who will be our new Council Chair; Katie Sloan, who will be our new Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) Chair; Ann Coker, who will be our new Finance Committee Chair; and Pam Winn, who will be an at-large member of the Council.

They succeed Tucky Tucker, Phyllis Carpenter, Tyler Craddock, and Tori Alexander, who have each announced plans to go where they believe God is leading them. They are beautiful people who go with our love, our blessing, and our thanks for all their years of faithful service to BHUMC and to the kingdom.

New leadership at a pastoral change is common; but at the same time, it is heartbreaking, and challenging. Yet while we need to recognize and honor that heartbreak and challenge, it cannot be a place where we stay. Joshua did not stay on the far side of the Jordan, lamenting that Moses was gone: he led the people over the Jordan and into the Promised Land. Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle, and immediately began performing miracles and serving God. And the disciples who watched Jesus ascend received the Holy Spirit ten days later, at Pentecost, and the world has not been the same since.

In exactly the same way, after the Council met last night and endorsed officers for now and 2025, we have new leaders for the next work that God has for us to do. I thank them for answering the invitation to be a part of our leadership team, and for being willing to follow Jesus’ lead. They join all the other committed leaders of our church who are determined to follow where God is calling us into a new chapter, an adventure to bring the good news of God’s unrelenting, unconditional love to our neighbors here in Enon.

And we all have a role to play. We all can sense the energy that the Holy Spirit is bringing into our church family, as we welcome new visitors and try new things to reach out to our neighbors. We can share that energy with our friends and neighbors—“Hey, there’s something really special happening at my church, come and see!” We can all help bring to fruition the goal that Jesus set out for us: to “go and make disciples of all the nations.” We’ve still got plenty of work to do.

So let's go.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Eric