Hi y'all,

This past week, thanks to the leadership of Kristin Underwood, Karen Walker, and Krista Vossler, COTC held a night of worship and prayer for our women. In talking with many of the women who attended, there was such a sense of grattitude for this night of fellowship, prayer, and worship. For many of us, it's the first time we've attended something like this in several years due to the pandemic.

Kristin and Krista led us in several songs and Karen led us in a time of prayer. We were able to linger on verses and in doing so, there was a sense of space and stillness that I don't always experience in the business of a Sunday morning. We sang multiple songs, but the song that ministered to me the most that night, was one that most of has have probably sung dozens of times, Great are you Lord. For those of us who are Christians, the idea that God is great, is not novel, but at the same time, for me at least, it can be easy to forget just how great our God is. If you aren't familiar with the song/as a refresher, the opening lines are:

You give life, You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope, You restore every heart that is broken
Great are you Lord

I've found myself meditating on these words since our worship night on Wednesday and my prayer for Church of the Cross, especially as so many will be traveling over the next couple of months, is that we hold these reminders close. Our God is so great, he is our light in the darkness, our hope, and he does restore our broken hearts. This Sunday, we're continuing in Philippians and it seems so many of the encouragements that Paul has to offer, also point us to the glory of God. May we hold tightly to this in our day to day lives.

With great joy and affection,
Kimberly+

PS- A heads up that if you've graduated recently or will graduate in the next few months, we'll invite you up for a special prayer during service this Sunday.

PPS- I had the privilege of writing this piece on beloved community for Christianity Today and I wanted to share it with y'all. One of my ongoing prayers for COTC is that as we transform more and more into beloved community.

If you missed it last week, please be sure to read this important update about music at COTC--

Andrew Del Rio, our director of music, recently graduated with his Ph.D. in Philosophy from The University of Texas! Prior to graduation, Andrew began a job search for university level teaching positions and he has accepted a position at George Fox University in Newberg Oregon. This is a super exciting time for Andrew and his family, but this change and saying goodbye also comes with sadness. COTC is endlessly grateful for the ways in which Andrew and Stephani have served our parish and the ways their entire family has been a faithful part of our community. We will miss them dearly, but we are also excited for them in this next season and praising God for his provision. Andrew's last Sunday leading will be 7/3 and the Del Rio's will head to Oregon later that week. The Del Rios have been traveling for a couple weeks, but they'll back with us this Sunday! We will share information soon about a going away party!

Upon Andrew's departure, Krista Vossler, will be stepping in as the interim director of music. Of course, Krista is not new to COTC, having been in this role before and currently serving as our musician in residence. We're thankful Krista said yes to filling this role and in the coming weeks, we'll share a reintroduction to help y'all get more familiar with her.

We ask that you join us in praying for the Del Rios in this time of transition and for Krista and her family as she steps into leading music for COTC.