Believe it or not, this June marks my fifth anniversary being the pastor of the Tri-Penn Charge! As I reflect on this, there are many things which come to mind—happy things like meeting all of the Christian brothers and sisters in the churches of the Charge; leading 21 people through the Confirmation process; seeing many youths become adults, and many children become youths; participating in five different series of Lent services, as well as five Christmas Eve’s; leading different Bible studies which included studies on Church History, Revelation, Hades, the Gospel of Luke, and other studies; and preaching completely through the Lectionary one and 2/3 times! And there have been some sad times, like when our loved ones have gone into God’s Kingdom prior to us. Thankfully, we have the hope given to us by our Savior: the hope that death is not the end, but only a step along the way. Jesus has prepared a place for us, and someday we will be with our loved ones once again when we too enter into the Kingdom of God.

I think one of the absolutely amazing things about the last five years has been how FAST the time has gone! I still sometimes feel that Anne and I have just recently moved into the parsonage. (Part of this impression may be due to the fact that we have at least eight boxes which have not yet been unpacked!) I remember when I was in my early teens that time seemed to be standing still. Part of this was because I was dying to get my driver’s license! I just could not wait to have the freedom of driving, and it seemed to take FOREVER for my sixteenth birthday to arrive. But now, it seems there are not enough hours in the day, days in the month, months in the year, etc. And the kids seem to be growing overnight.

May God bless our ministry as we continue to grow in our faith and mission together.

Pastor Mike