Jesus says, “See, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:5
Dear People of St. David’s,
I pray that you and yours are well. Today, I share the good news, that this year’s St. David’s Country Fair was the highest grossing Fair in its 171-year history. We raised over $160,000 and, after expenses, will be able to direct over $100,000 to our Outreach ministries for the coming year. Praise God! Thanks to Hilary Dash and Jennifer Newhall, our Fair Chairs, they were wonderful! Thanks to all of you, as well as our staff, who worked together through the year and on the day of the Fair. It was amazing!
God is always about doing amazing things. When we allow God’s grace to guide us through life, we are empowered and blessed beyond our own strength and abilities.
The other thing that happens when we allow God’s grace to enter our lives and to guide our paths, is that God renews us. God makes us and our lives new every day. It’s the way into the life that is really life – lives lived connected to God.
I’ve been thinking and talking a lot these past few months about how God makes all things new. We are living in a time when renewal and rejuvenation are in great need in our lives, in the Church, and in the world around us. The pandemic has upset the patterns of all our lives. We couldn’t gather for worship every Sunday and lost the energy that coming together brings. We and people we know were sick, and some died. Our work lives and our play lives were changed and not always for the better. Now, we are trying to figure out what we want our lives to be and what it means to be this church on a mission.
This is a pivotal moment. This is the moment for all of us to open our hearts and invite God to come in to renew our lives. Oh, we can try and re-create the lives we were living, but the world has changed, and we need to open ourselves up to something new, something different. My hunch is that this is just the moment for us to open ourselves anew or for the first time to invite God to renew our lives.
That’s what Jesus is all about: offering God’s presence and God’s grace to renew our lives and make us new people.
So let me invite you to remember in this time of change, that God is with you. God is with you and is interested in renewing your life with faith, grace, hope, love, and a new direction. Don’t be afraid. God has been in the renewal and re-creation business for a long time. He is just waiting for us to turn and invite Him to make our lives new by the gracious, loving hand of God. Open the way and you will find that it is amazing.
Grace and Peace,
The Rev. W. Frank Allen
Rector