Grace to you and peace from God, our Creator, our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

I hope that y’all take some time in your week to read this newsletter and calendar. Throughout this month there are special services and celebrations happening at church. We hope y’all come to join us for them. Don’t forget to invite your family and friends, and strangers alike – anyone the Spirit moves you to invite!

At the beginning of this month, I will be traveling to Tucson, AZ, for the annual General Synod meeting. Almost 200 people will be travelling there for this meeting, so please pray for safe travels for everyone. Also, please pray for us as we gather to do God’s work. May we feel the Spirit moving, stirring, and at work among us. May we open ourselves up to listen to understand, to be authentic and vulnerable, and show mercy and love. May the Spirit be at work transforming our minds and hearts – moving us to show up in ways that maintain the spirit of unity and at the same time value the beautiful diversity within the body of Christ.

While I am at General Synod, the Young Disciples will be leading the service on Pentecost Sunday (6/8). We have something special planned for that day as it is the birthday of the church! We hope that y’all come to share in worship and celebration with our young disciples that day.

May this be our blessing as we celebrate and enter the season of Pentecost:

Beloveds, go! Go out into this world filled with the Holy Spirit. Let the Spirit give you words when you have none. Let the Spirit stop your tongue when listening is the answer. Let the Spirit strengthen you when the way ahead is hard. Remember Jesus said he would not leave us alone and would send us a Comforter. Let the Spirit enfold you and comfort you and keep you until we are together again. Go in peace and bring the peace and fiery flames of Holy Spirit with you wherever you go. Amen.

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Jenn

“Out My Window”

As I gazed out my window, I saw a perfect shaped elm tree reaching up to the sky.

I continued to watch it each day or many times a day. This tree gave me peace because I saw God in this tree.

To me the trunk of the tree was God as he is in us. The branches were the nations of the world, and the leaves were the people of the nations.

God was there for all the leaves just like he is there for all people.

Then one day I looked out my window and the tree had lost its perfect shape. Some branches at the top were gone. But God still was there holding up the rest of the tree, just like he does for us.

Even though the tree wasn’t perfect, God was still there with the tree. It reminded me that even if we are not perfect God still walks with us.

One day while riding down a street near my house I saw many different trees planted together. My thoughts said to me look how all these trees get along together. I took that as a message from God that we should all get along together. We all need God and one another.

Trees weathered together storms, heat, cold, snow, wind, droughts, too much rain and invasion by pests because God is there with them. We as humans go thru the same things and God is there for us.

As with the trees, God is always with me even though I am not perfect.

Written by Arlene Jordan