A Time of Reawakening Our Imaginations

As we continue to plunge into the New Year, and as I continue my studies (by the time you receive this I will be in the throws of my last two classes,) the transition that we have been working through as a church is well under way. The Session is busy praying about and contacting folks regarding service on one of our five teams. We hope that you will join us! February is going to be an exciting month. I know that sounds crazy as February is usually a time when we long for the beginning of Spring. My hope and vision for Heritage this month is that it will be a time of reawakening our imaginations as we seek to disclose to the people of our community what place a relationship with Jesus Christ has in their lives.

Accomplishing this is not something which can be borne by the few but needs to be cheerful and gratefully taken up by the many. In that spirit I want to thank you all for your generosity in continuing to minister to one another and to the community and to me as well. Your prayers for me and my family while they were here over Christmas were felt and welcomed. To those of you who donated air mattresses and pillows and all the rest, I can’t begin to tell you how much they helped. I know from experience that generosity begets generosity.  A year from now, if all goes according to plan, I will have received my Doctor of Ministry degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. I simply would not have been able to even make it this far, without you.  We began with fourteen students and I believe there are only six or seven of us left. Please keep us all in prayer this year.  The best news to come from having engaged in this course of study is the work that we are doing here at Heritage, all of it is happening because of you. So many of the projects I have engaged in have been done in conjunction and with the participation of church members. The fruit this is bearing is made manifest in our monthly meal ministry, our engagement with single moms, and Body & Soul. I thank God for each of you and for these developments in our church’s life which have occurred not because I am a tireless pastor or because you are a tireless congregation, but because we rest in the sure hope of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Please continue in the spirit of generosity in which you have been baptized and which continues to allow us to discern and imagine the things which God is calling us to do. Prophetic ministry is typically marked by two things, a robust use of the imagination, and a reliance on God to fulfill His promises through the work of the church. Be a prophet this month!

Blessings,
Pastor Brian