Hi Church! 

It is a profound privilege to be your priest. This week has been a reminder of that. These past days I’ve had the opportunity to engage with some of you in the warp and woof of life and its very real challenges. It is an honor to be with you in the everyday drama of sin and grace, where the Holy Spirit is working to woo and win us to the way of Jesus. Almost seven years into life as priest, the gift of sharing in these moments and conversations, remains a humbling and awe-inspiring thing. 

It is in these moments outside of Sundays, often in a coffee shop or the living room, where the true mettle of faith is demonstrated and the goodness of God made known. In the courage to forgive, in the decision to pursue healing, in simple acts of perseverance, trust, and obedience, I see you struggling together to choose life (Deut. 30:19), and it blesses me. 

Many of these moments are hidden and quiet, we don’t all get to be in on them. As one of the priests in our community I’m graced to be there and what I see is glorious and good, even as it can be taxing and terrible. I see and experience the goodness of Jesus in the midst of these times together, and my encouragement to you is to keep choosing life, keeping following Jesus and making His way the way of life. God is alive and moving in our midst, let us keep faith. 

You can also be praying for one another! So many of us are carrying burdens and contending with struggles, let’s lift one another to the Lord. You can especially be praying this weekend as our Parish Council Retreat is taking place. The Parish Council, in conjunction with Nick and I, will be meeting to pray and plan for the year ahead. Our desire is that this would be a fruitful and fun time of listening to the Lord and learning together about what it means for COTC to more fully walk in God’s plans and purposes. I'm grateful for the wonderful team of servant leaders on the PC. Part of our prep will be for our Parish Meeting on February 9th at which we'll be talking about my upcoming sabbatical among others matters. 

Privileged to be in Christ with you,

Peter+