“So we are always confident . . . for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:6-7
Dear People of St. David’s,
I pray that you and yours are well on this week of our Annual Meeting. I hope, too, that you are making plans to join us in-person or online Sunday to celebrate together all that God has been doing in our lives and to catch a glimpse of the life and ministry that is before us in the coming year.
Every year we stop and take a moment to remember and reflect on all that God has done in our life at St. David’s. It’s always amazing to me to see the short videos and to listen to the reports because, like many of you, I’m often on to the “next thing” or the next activity, and don’t always take the time to reflect on how God has been moving in our lives. Always moving along is not good spiritual practice. Without taking a moment to reflect and give thanks, we too easily forget how God has moved in our lives and we can become a little ‘clueless’ about how God may be moving in our lives right now. So we pause, reflect, give thanks, and then walk in faith and confidence that the God who has been with us over the past year will be with us as we move forward into the new year.
We have been particularly blessed by God over this past year as we have had to move in and out of COVID restrictions and concerns. Some of our in-person worship attendance was halted for a time. Many of our normal activities and ministries were postponed or modified to keep one another safe. Still, our worship participation in-person and online has grown steadily and many of the ministries and outreach commitments have actually expanded. The Fair and our outreach commitments were spectacular. God has been walking with us and as we come out of this strangest of times, we can be confident that God has more in mind for us as individuals and for us as a community.
As St. Paul wrote, “we walk by faith and not by sight.” God doesn’t always show us the next step in our walk and I trust that God has our good in mind. Part of that good is growing in our trust in this God who loves us and is with us always. Part of that good is the gift of surprise and accomplishments that are ours when we walk by faith. Who really wants to know the ending of a mystery or how the heroine wins in the end without reading the book or watching the whole movie?
And so, as we celebrate another amazing year of mission and ministry together this Sunday following the 9:15 a.m. worship. Let us take this time to pause, reflect, give thanks, and grow in our faith for all that is coming by God’s gracious hand. God promises to warm our hearts and we will grow in confidence as we grow and walk in faith.
See you in Church!
Grace and Peace,
The Rev. W. Frank Allen