February 2021 e-newsletter

Dearest Church, Like many others, I found myself sharing pictures on social media that highlighted the contrast from last week to this week. Over just a few hours we literally went from zero to eighty, and I’m not talking about car racing. Last week our world was blanketed in snow. Many struggle to stay warm from lack of power or shelter, many others scrambled to boil water, and many others wondered how to boil water without power. While many of our young and young-at-heart did frolic and have fun in the snow, I don’t think most of us would describe last week as “fun.” As the sun came out, melting the snow and warming the temperature, I was amazed at how quickly the weather and our realilties changed. It has been a hopeful reminder to me of just how much can happen in a week. Sometimes the shadows and cold of our lives do seem neverending, leading us to cry out wth the psalmist, “How long, O Lord!” Yet, the extreme transformations of this past week has also reminded me how that  same psalmist proclaimed, “weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning!”  We are just a week into Lent but I can’t help but thinking ahead to Holy Week and how much happened in just that one week, or even more shocking, how much happened in just three days! Our God is a God of transformation! Our God is a God in the business of midwifing new life! Our God can create beauty out of dust, can heal that which is broken, can nurture life from death! On the dark, cold days that can become full of despair and hopelessness, may we remember that is not the end of our story, for that is not the end of God’s story. A new day will dawn, joy will rise, Easter will arrive. Warmth and Grace, Rev. Casey     To check out the rest of the February Newsletter click here: https://mailchi.mp/5661d3f5ddc6/e-newsletter-7481233