I enjoyed my first “Cottage meeting” earlier this week, where I had the opportunity to begin to hear your stories. I’m looking forward to meeting many more of you in this way in the coming weeks. Hearing from you will help me prepare sermons and prayers that speak to our hearts and draw us closer to the Giver of Life. Getting to know you will not just help you get to know me but will help me understand the local culture so I can better communicate God’s love in our community.

This coming Sunday, Dr. Kelly Quick will be preaching a sermon titled, “Not Quite Dead Yet.” I will be taking this opportunity to spend time with the youngest members of our congregation in Sunday School. Dr. Quick was scheduled to preach prior to my arrival and asked to be given the opportunity to keep this commitment. In the future, I will be preaching and leading the service whenever I am not on vacation or we have a special guest like a conference minister visiting us.

In this week, may you be inspired to ponder that God doesn’t just call us to love our neighbor as ourself but asks us to love the alien as we love ourselves. God’s love is without borders, giving life to all.  Pastor Laura