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It is hard to believe, but it has been just over one year since Holy Cross voted to call me as their new pastor!  So, Happy Anniversary!

Over these past 12 months, our community:

  • Served our neighbors at our annual block party which reached over 200 people (this year’s block party is on Sept 15th - I hope you can come!)
  • Served 1,888 families/9,014 individuals through our bi-monthly food pantry
  • Continued to offer wonderful children’s programming & Music opportunities
  • Raised $15,000 to help send 12 youth and 3 adults to New Orleans for the ELCA national youth gathering where they learned and served alongside Lutheran youth from around the country
  • Held excellent in-person worship services and made them available weekly on Facebook live
  • Knit prayer shawls, packed college care packages, made and distributed care bags for people experiencing homelessness
  • Provided Christian education opportunities for all ages - from preschool to adults
  • Gave away free vegetables from our church garden and our home gardens at our free produce stand
  • Supported one another and our neighbors in countless ways - phone calls, get-well cards, hugs, help with yard work, car rides, and so much more…

In addition to all of that (and the many other things I forgot to include), our church council identified three areas of focus - three aspects of our ministry to prioritize as we continue to live out our mission together.  Those areas of focus are: youth ministry, food pantry, and our RIC identity.  As a first step, the council commissioned the formation of ministry teams.  These teams are tasked with identifying ways that we can more fully live out our mission in these three areas.

Though the teams are only getting started, it has already been exciting to see the passion and creativity that is emerging.  There is passion and an excitement to grow the wonderful ministry of this place - to improve what we are already doing so well and to find new opportunities to share God’s love.  God is at work here at Holy Cross in so many big and small ways - and in ways that we have not yet imagined! 

I am extremely grateful to be part of the mission of Holy Cross - to be called by God to embrace and nurture every person as a beloved child of God - and to be called by God to do that good work with all of you.  Thank you for the opportunity to be part of this church family and to work alongside you in the ministry that we share.  I look forward to many more anniversaries in the years to come!