|
 Dear
St. Matthew Saints:
Since
my
last message,
momentous things have taken place at St. Matthew! You have called a
new pastor and he has accepted your call. You will welcome Pastor
Barksdale near the beginning of March and my last Sunday will be
February 16th.
As
I said at the call meeting, this is the culmination of my ministry–what
I have been working toward. You have come to the point of opening
yourselves to a new pastor. You are willing to journey with him and
follow his lead.
Someone
once told me that being a pastor is like being involved in a life-long
relay race. As you leave a parish you hand the baton off to the new
pastor, and the race continues. What is important is the race goes
on. That analogy only works from the Pastor's perspective. From your
perspective it is more like running a marathon. I have run with you
for a while to encourage you on the way and now Pastor Barksdale with
run with you. As the writer of Hebrews says,
"Let
us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, look in to
Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith...." (Hebrews 12:1b-2a)
When
I meet people who want to join the church, at some point I will
always tell them: remember, you do not join the church because of the
pastor. Pastors will come and go, but the people of the church will
remain. You are joining with a group of people to journey together in
your life of faith."
As
a congregation, you are nearing the 50-year mark of your journey
together. You have stayed together this long because of your
faithfulness to the gospel. Never forget that this is your purpose:
to care for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You do this by calling good
pastors to preach and teach the gospel. You do this by giving of your
time and talents to the mission of the gospel. You do this by
offering mutual support and care to each other. You do this by
sharing the good news of Jesus with those who need to hear it.
I
am thankful that I have been able to join you in your ministry this
past year and a half. It has truly been a joy. My prayer is that you
receive and support Pastor Barksdale just as you have received and
supported me. If so, I know you will have a good "run"
together. AMEN.
Pastor
Peter
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