Dear Caldwell,
As we travel from Sunday to Sunday this week, we walk with Gail’s words from her sermon Sunday, “How long, O Lord? How long?” In the first of four Sundays she will be preaching from Habakkuk, her words resonated as she drew links between the oppression in the times of that Old Testament prophet and our own times, when oppression still weighs down too many, including our siblings of color as we reflect during Black History Month.
For Habakkuk and us, we put faith in an “on-time God” knowing that God “may not come when we want” but that God will be there “right on time,” as Gwen Pearson sings so powerfully for us. So, as the Scripture that Gail will preach from this Sunday reminds us, sometimes we have to trust God’s time is indeed the best and keep in mind that there is work to do in the meantime. Why not come to the Preachers’ Porch tonight at 7 to look back at her message Sunday and ahead to next Sunday’s sermon as on Habakkuk 2:1-5.
Speaking of waiting for God’s time, our friend Sally Herlong’s prayers and journey to ordination as a minister took a big step forward Saturday. The Presbytery of Charlotte approved her completion of the last stage of her preparation for a call to a specific ministry location. Sally’s waited patiently and faithfully for this step. Meantime, she continues with her training as hospital chaplain and is open to a call in that context or at a church. Sally’s faith and servant leadership shone as she helped lead Caldwell in her 5 years as Business and Operations Manager and she has become a much beloved member of the Caldwell family. Please join me in congratulating her on this huge achievement.
Another thing the Charlotte Presbytery did Saturday was approve a motion that all ministers and Presbytery committee members be required to take anti-racism training. This makes our Presbytery the second or third in the country to take this forward step. The motion passed with 99% approval. Thanks be to God.
Please keep our recently named team to lead our anti-racism education at Caldwell in prayer as it meets to begin its important work Wednesday night. And, believe it or not, it’s almost time for Lent to begin. So mark your calendars for these gatherings:
- A Shrove Pancake dinner and entertainment time (all online) next Tuesday at 6 p.m. as one last hoorah, followed by:
- An Ash Wednesday service of reflection and preparation (online) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Watch for links and more soon.
See you on the porch tonight, at vespers Thursday or some other time soon.
In Christ,
John