Dear Caldwell,
A word of warning – You may want to grab a snack and something cool to drink. This week’s blog is longer than usual… Here goes.
We made it.
We made it through another summer of the Hope Social Justice Interns.
We made it through the renovation of our sanctuary.
And we made it through the two months of John’s sabbatical.
We didn’t just “make it.” We thrived.
We sent our interns back home with great joy and surrounded with prayer.
We heard the Word read and proclaimed by Diane Mowrey, Rob Hammock, Justin Martin, as well as our summer interns.
We worshiped and sang along with Greg Jarrell and his wonderfully gifted group.
We celebrated the birth of Eleanor Squibb.
We enjoyed a church-wide picnic.
We enjoyed Summer Nights at Caldwell (SNAC), making new friends, and deepening established friendships.
We hosted the Charlotte Interfaith Pride Service.
We marched in the Charlotte Pride Parade.
We welcomed new members into the Caldwell community of faith.
We also mourned the death – and celebrated the life – of GW Baker.
We dealt with a flood in The Third Place.
We stayed close to one another during illness, hospitalization, and other crises.
We carried one another in prayer during times of depression, anxiety, and loss.
As always, God has been faithful to us, and we have tried to be faithful to and with one another. To God be the glory!
I want to thank you all for the ways in which you stepped up, leaned in, and have done the work of ministry with and for one another this summer. I know there was some concern about how things would go during John’s sabbatical, but you have proven that we are the body of Christ together. We are the family of God together. We have missed John’s presence and leadership. I confess that I have missed having my colleague in the office next door. But we have also taken advantage of many opportunities to love on one another and care for one another during John’s absence.
As we enter the fall, as we prepare for stewardship season in October, as we plan for the all-church retreat in November, as we look ahead with great anticipation to all that God is going to do here at Caldwell, in us, through us, and sometimes even in spite of us, we do so with gratitude in our hearts.
We thank God for being with us, each of us and all of us. We thank God for all the ways in which we have experienced the faithfulness of our loving and gracious God. It is easy to come to God with our needs and concerns. Most of the time, it is even easier to forget to come back to God to give thanks for all that we have been given.
We have received so much from our generous and merciful God. We have received daily, “ordinary” blessings that we sometimes overlook – like running water, electricity, and access to the internet where we can read email and communicate with friends through social media. We have received extraordinary blessings – like life itself, people who love us, the generosity that makes our ministries possible, and a church community in which we can be the messy, beautiful, broken, strong, needy people that we are.
When I look out at you all from my seat in the chancel on Sunday mornings, I think of the stories you tell me about the challenges you face in your lives. I think about your courage, your fears, your faith, your hope, your tears, and your yearning for a deeper sense of the nearness of God – and I am often overwhelmed with love for you and with gratitude to God that I get to walk alongside you on your life journeys.
As I sit there, I sometimes find myself thinking about that old hymn of the church – Amazing Grace.
“Through many dangers, toils, and snares, we have already come.
T’was grace that brought us safe thus far, and grace will lead us home.”
Caldwell, we have made it through so much – not only this summer, but throughout our history as a church, and all through our individual histories as well. God’s grace has truly been amazing – and as we say every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper – “It is right to give God our thanks and praise.”
Thanks be to God. Thanks be to God indeed.
Let’s get ready to celebrate the deep compassion of God and the liberating work of God in worship this Sunday. I will be preaching again – this time from Exodus 2:23-3:11.
Grace and peace, Gail Henderson-Belsito