“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” ~Saint Paul (Romans 6:4)
This is my second newsletter to this amazing congregation—The First Congregational Church of Spencerport. It has been a little more than a month since I began my role here as your new minister. As we look forward to the 2019 Easter season, I want to encourage you to also look forward to new life. Easter is one of the most important holidays on the Christian calendar. It is a time when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. What would be a better time for us to also celebrate our own personal resurrections? There are times in our own lives when we have to close the door to our past and open the door to our future. There are times when we have to end one chapter and then turn the page to begin another. As stated in my previous newsletter, new beginnings are filled with excitement, joy, and passion. However, new beginnings are often times the result of something being lost; something dying; or, maybe even something not working out the way we originally planned. While great losses stimulate great mourning; they also have a way of leading us to a new beginning or a new path. Let us take time out to reflect on and celebrate the new life that we have in Christ. Let us take time out to reflect on and celebrate our own personal “new beginnings.” And, let us take time out to reflect on and celebrate our own personal resurrections.
Finally, I look forward to celebrating Holy Week and many other important holidays on the Christian calendar together. Let us keep our church, our community, and our world lifted up in prayer.
May the peace and love of God live in your hearts,
Pastor Michael L. Sloan