Pastor Note for
September 2025

Slowing Down Time

We can often feel as though the time has slipped through our fingers like sand at the conclusion of a season. As years pass, it can even feel like the minutes, hours, days, months, and years are speeding by at an ever increasing pace. I read recently that this phenomenon is amplified in an absence of new experiences. When we learn something new or travel somewhere new, we break this cycle of repetition and once again discover that time seems to slow down.

The beginning of a school year can bring a wave of nostalgia as we reflect on each year school, our teachers, the anticipation, the new clothes / shoes / supplies, the new time in our education beginning. Combine that with the many ‘new’experiences we have as children and adolescents and it is no wonder that we feel that time moved so slowly then. Through the words of the prophet Isaiah, God said “See, I am doing a new thing; now it springs up” (Is. 43:18). We know that trying, learning, and doing new things is good for our brains and bodies. It is also good for our spirits and faith. I encourage you as we begin this fall to do a new thing. For example: lend your voice to the choir, get involved in a spiritual development opportunity, volunteer your time in mission like with the Hearts for the Homeless Mobile Food Pantry, help out with fellowship following worship, greet at one of the entrances on Sunday, or learn how to run the livestream to name but a few. Try something new and rediscover the joy of spending time with God.

Yours in Christ, 

Rev. Daven Oskvig