November Jottings...

I am not sure what it is about the human spirit that we want to emphasize anniversaries. It seems pretty natural to want to remember the days on which someone was born or the day a couple got married. Those are significant events and merit regular remembrance. We do it on a national scale too remembering important events like the end of World War I (Armistace Day - now Veteran’s day). Sometimes I think people can take it to an extreme such as the young couple who celebrates two months since they started dating. I wonder if we are using the anniversaries to try to force importance into an event or if we naturally are recognizing the value of it.

I guess such emphases are useful if for nothing else than to take stock on where we started and the progress made. It is this way that I find myself thinking about November 1, 2014. I remember my first Sunday at Cole vividly - so thankful that people wore name tags and wondering how I would differentiate one gray-haired man from another once people stopped wearing the name tags. I remember the frantic excitement of trying to get up to speed in only three weeks prior. I remember walking through the gym and education building and worship center praying for God to bless my efforts and this congregation moving forward.

A lot of good things have happened. More are still ahead. I feel now like I did then, like God’s providence and grace are at work bringing us together as pastor and flock. God wants us to love one another well, to serve our community and to announce the good news and make disciples. That is a tall order but I believe we are up to it.

We (both Cole and myself!) want to take what we are doing well and keep doing it. We want to understand where we are weak and let God move amongst us and by His grace make us strong. I have spent time with the Staff Parish Relations Committee and we have identified my strengths and challenges and have a plan to move ahead. Cole Memorial is on the move.

Maybe anniversaries aren’t so bad after all.

- Pastor Brian