Author: Pastor Sarah
Four years ago, I tore my ACL. After the surgery, I felt like I would never walk again, much less recover full use of my leg. It took a year of physical therapy, but eventually I healed. From time-to-time, however, my knee starts to act up. This means I need to get back to the basics: stretching, exercise and rest. If I tend to my knee properly, it keeps on going.
Bearing down on two years of pandemic, nearly everyone I know is tired and struggling with low morale, including me. We’ve all been called to adapt in countless ways. Even though Peace has done some phenomenal ministry, it has come at a cost. My spiritual core needs some rehab and I’m sure I’m not alone.
At the congregational meeting, I will talk about some simple ways that I envision individual members, and the congregation as a whole, can get back to the basics of our faith this year. We will rely on spiritual practices like prayer, worship, scripture, testimony, fellowship, and service, to strengthen our spiritual cores and let God heal us.
Also at the meeting, Norm Philion, our Council President will talk about plans for me to have a 4-week renewal leave, Feb 7 – March 7. With the loving help of the Council, I have discerned that I am too depleted to go on without a break. This will serve as a time of spiritual and emotional healing so I can come back with energy for the season ahead. Supply pastors, volunteers and staff will make sure that worship and essential pastoral care is well-covered.
This time of rest and renewal will extend into the whole congregation, as we ask ourselves in the season of Lent: what does it mean for us that God heals? I encourage you to think honestly and prayerfully about your own need for healing as essential to the healing of our communities and our world. I trust that God’s love truly can heal us all.
