Momentum: The right title for right now
It took me losing my voice to find the words to talk about last Sunday. It was so holy, friends. If you weren’t there, I hope I can impart to you through this some of the joy, the anticipation, and the holy weight of the day. If you were there, I hope this brings the presence of Jesus as we experienced him Sunday right into this moment in time where you normally spend your life.
First of all, this slideshow from Nicole Schauer will transport you back to Sunday and let you experience some of the morning for yourself. Thank you, Nicole.
I watched that on Sunday night around 9pm. Picture it: I had my head laid back on a chair, eyes closed, speaking to Larry in short bursts the gratitude I had for so many individual people and moments from that Sunday morning. Then I watched it.
And it took me to a very deep place of memory and emotion not just from Sunday but from the past five years.
One of the quirks about my personality is that I’m rarely daunted. The bigger the thing ahead of me, the more anticipation builds, the more people I can see involved, the greater the potential joy. The flip side of that coin is that it can be long after a summit or a completion or a milestone that I begin to process just what it cost, what was required, and the toll.
So in a three minute flash of images from one particularly joyful Sunday morning, my mind went through:
Twelve months of prayer walking and those I met along the way
The week long rigorous assessment and popping the question to Larry, “Will you plant a church with me?” on the sidewalk of Indianapolis
The post-launch team dedication day when COVID made the headlines
The incredible team of leaders and staff that have co-labored with us
The provision time after time, seven times over, of places to meet for worship
The toddler who prayer walked with me is now the first grader who greets on Sundays
Transferring call from Chapel Hill to Port Orchard
The anointing of twenty friends, counting their cost to transfer or hope again or start a new relationship with the Church. Over and over, “Receive the Holy Spirit…”
The holy assent of my four (soon to be five) friends who committed to spiritual leadership alongside us as elders
The pastoral vows! I didn’t know we’d be repeating those. What a holy weight to join Jesus in this ministry and affirm this call
So now as I sit – struck speechless by extreme allergies (I promise, just allergies, we had it checked out)-- I find the Spirit giving me the words to say…
THANK YOU.
Thank you that this journey is not done alone. You’ve been here. You’ve prayed. You’ve worshipped. You’ve risked having conversations about God again– and even his Church. You’ve loved our kids. You’ve moved chairs and found trailers and figured out sound equipment. You’ve loaned us your students. You’ve invested financially. You’ve put on the Kitsap House sticker. You’ve looked at what’s ahead and said, “Yep! I’m in.” And I’m especially grateful for those who tagged in like a relay at some point in the past 5 years and jumped in for a season. It all matters.
It’s all been part of seeking God’s shalom in Port Orchard.
We’ve got some momentum. Let’s keep it going! Keep on with kitsaphouse.org for the ways we’re going to be in our neighborhood this month (a fun one coming up at Yoked Brewery on February 28th) and worshipping on Sundays and training to be like Jesus on Mondays and all the things.
Ever so gratefully,
Pastor Megan
