Presbytery Greetings: June 2023 Newsletter
Pentecost Greetings & Celebrating Clementina
This past Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost. We celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. I have heard of some churches that blow out candles on a birthday cake each year at Pentecost. The Gospel text from this past Sunday’s lectionary was John 20:19-23. In this passage, as the disciples are behind locked doors, enveloped in fear, Jesus gives them peace, his breath full of the Holy Spirit, and gives them life again to do God’s will. As I look back on my life, time and time again, God was revealed in the people I had met. I have learned unconditional love, first from my parents, then through my wife, and now in my relationship with my 14 and 18-year-old children, who are growing up way too fast. I know what a deeply caring community could be as I serve my Church at First United Presbyterian Church and our Presbytery. I am growing in my capacity for patience, understanding, leadership, and servitude through my various mentors along my life journey. And I am more capable of letting go of fear and living in peace, even through difficult times… Read More