Wow! What a ride it has been from Pastor’s very first children’s sermon! Does anyone else remember seeing shaving cream in front of the altar?
Over the past four years of Pastor Tim Krick’s pastoral leadership at Holy Trinity, I believe our Church has deepened our faith through his words, passion, and fortitude.
Through his words...
He helped us gain an understanding when considering the (Go ahead, say it.) “context, context, context” of a scripture’s historical elements. Pastor’s words challenged us to reflect on how we could more actively live out our faith by highlighting the ways we can address our community needs.
We appreciated the engaging activities that Pastor delivered in sermons. This helped us each hold a mirror to ourselves for reflection which lead to further reading and dialogue far after the benediction was delivered.
We savored the peaceful mid-week service, Bible Study group, conversations over coffee, different classes/forums of faith instruction, and discussions that encouraged us to listen and gain new perspectives which helped us “soften” any misguided beliefs we were harboring.
We felt the magic when we listened to the children’s honest, insightful, and joyful responses during the children’s sermon. This also brought smiles, insight, and hope for us not sitting on the carpet.
Through his passions...
We gained a better understanding of diverse communities who we may not regularly intersect our daily life. Pastor’s intentional work in the Reconciling in Christ process provided us with the opportunity to learn about the challenges and inequities people who identify as being in the LGBTQIA+ community.
We gained awareness of the importance to earnestly listen, ask questions, empathize, discuss, and adjust our understanding of complicated and sensitive topics.
We continued to financially support and participate in local and international ministries which provides different avenues for Holy Trinity to serve people living in situations of housing or food insecurity. Yes, Pastor’s departure brings us significant change after already experiencing months of pandemic concerns, yet we are also sending out his “gifts” of engagement, personal connection, and teaching to a far bigger community in need through his work with Lutheran World Relief.
We practiced living through awkward, unfamiliar, or unpredictable discussions and experiences because we were reminded we are a Christian first and we are capable of doing what we can now to love our neighbors.
Through his fortitude...
Pastor provided Holy Trinity with a steadfast presence, diverse engagement, and loving concern through these ongoing months during the Pandemic. Despite being physically out of our Church, he helped us to remain grounded in the presence of God due to Pastor’s pastoral fortitude.
After months of online service, we understand that a vibrant church doesn’t have to be a traditional church setting. During the most challenging times of the Pandemic, Pastor’s vision provided experiences that helped to improve feelings of isolation and generated spiritual engagement.
We felt comforted and energized by the people we saw on Zoom when attending online services. The participation of individuals and families to read, sing, share faith stories, chat together in breakout rooms, or Adult Forums was a magnificent dance of creativity and collaboration by Pastor, Mark Donahue, our musicians, and others.
One of my close friend’s favorite quote is by Martin Luther King is one you have probably heard. “The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they* stand at times of challenge and controversy.”
Christians understand that when we are given opportunities or choices, we are told to do what is right for those who happen to be living without a voice. A voice that may need resources, knowledge, mental or physical health, or just some plain “old’ good luck.” For reasons that you can obviously fill in, our Church Community finds itself in challenging and controversial times which makes it more important than ever to live through the lens of a compassionate Christian.
Let us keep God’s grace close as we make decisions of how we prioritize our time, energy, gifts, and financial support. Breathe in patience and an open heart as Holy Trinity moves through discernment and ask for your participation in the many months ahead. Let us live in the present and not let our concerns, worries, big aspirations, or expectations take over what we can do right now in our community and World as a caring, vibrant, and inclusive Church.
(*The words “man” and “he” were replaced by “person” and “they.”)