May 2018 Newsletter Message

O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
The above is a great little prayer from the Evening Prayer service in our Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal, and I think it is wonderfully appropriate for the month of May. This month is always one that finds people at exciting transitions. The school year is ending, bringing the summer break that is so desperately longed for both by the students and the adults. And speaking of summer, we might just be able to experience that season this year!  We have now had, as of my writing this, two consecutive snow-free Sundays, so I declare with great hope (and potentially considerable folly) that winter has finally come to a close. In these and many other ways, then, our life together this month is summed up by that little snippet of the Evening Prayer service. 
 
Called to ventures of which we cannot see the ending...
One of these ventures began at the end of last month with Canton’s first Rejoicing Spirits service, celebrated on April 26th with friends from the MOSAIC group homes in Canton, Macomb, and Bushnell. In total, 22 people participated in this first service, and plans are already starting to materialize for the next service over the summer! 
 
Another new venture for us that will begin taking shape this month is the new Care Team ministry. As a congregation, we are very good at taking care of one another.  In the Care Team Ministry, we will be finding new ways to intentionally weave our gifts of sending cards, cooking, and visiting one another into a blanket of God’s love that can comfort people who are hurting and let them know how deeply they are loved by God and by us, God’s servants. 
 
By paths as yet untrodden…
May 20 brings about a new path for our sister Jaime Goldring, our one graduating high school senior. We send her with peace and prayers in a time of Graduate recognition during the worship service that day.
 
There is also an untrodden path in my own family, as Andrea and I recently discovered that we are expecting our first child! She is a little over eight weeks pregnant, and everything is progressing well so far!  We were delighted to share this news publicly for the first time on the last Sunday of April, following the good results at her confirmation of pregnancy appointment a couple of days earlier. Our due date is December 7th - might make for an interesting Advent season this year! 
 
Through perils unknown...
Of course, these exciting new directions (and the ones shaping up in each of our lives) are not without their potential pitfalls and struggles. Unforeseen challenges lie ahead, and there will be bumps in the road. But amid all our excitement this May, let us lean on the final words of that great piece of Evening Prayer, praying to God: Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.