Pastor Note for
October/November 2024

This wonderful month overflows with moments that recall the past, relish the present, and look towards the future. Whether it is through our football cheers, the abundance of harvest or the crisp temperatures, memories of the past rush to our minds simultaneously as new ones are created while the unknown of a winter looms on a gray horizon. The same is true in our life together as a community of Christ, recalling the celebrations of the past as we journey together through the present with the Spirit’s guidance toward a future of God’s creation.

The greatest challenge is embodying a people of hope—not dwelling on past glories or present realities but being committed to work together to make this earth and our lives a reflection of heaven. This is what Jesus himself proclaimed through his words and ministry. He celebrated the past while journeying through the present in his public ministry that finally God’s people and God could be united through grace and forgiveness to work for a future of love and hope. He personified not the way it had been or even the way it was, but the way it should be as he shared his life with those whom society had cast off and abandoned. Through the simple act of hospitality and inclusion, a completely systematic reevaluation and revision of what should be central in life was made. It would no longer be fear and anxiety over what could be, but the hope and love of what can be.

So, we have a choice—live in fear of what could be on that gray horizon and so do nothing OR as a community of Christ seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance as we journey together in what can be. Jesus taught us to pray for it. The prayer of our hearts must match the words of our mouths and the actions of our hands. Let us work together as a church toward that bright and glorious future of hope and love as we ‘make connections and offer opportunities in faith, love, and service.’

Yours in Christ, 

Rev. Daven Oskvig