Rachel Fitch
Sid & Cathy Batts Pastoral Resident
I came across a piece written by Henri Nouwen recently in his Bread for the Journey devotional. He reflects on life, writing: “Mostly we have just enough light for the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark … Let’s rejoice in the little light we carry and not ask for the great beam that would take all shadows away.”
As I reflect on this and reflect on where we seem to be as a community and a congregation, it is a beautiful reminder that, while we want to know where we will be next year or in five or ten years, we don’t know. We don’t know where our next steps, individually and collectively, will take us. That’s frustrating. And, it is exciting. This little bit of light that we have invokes trust, trust for each day. And, it provides room for beauty and a way of being present, right where we are.
As I begin this residency program and am a mere three weeks in, I have no idea where I will be a few years from now. And, in all honesty, I don’t even know what I will be doing within the church a few months from now! Yet, I am thankful to be here. I am thankful to have the opportunity to walk with you all in each step, as we journey together in ministry. And, I am thankful for the ways that God is being and continues to be revealed in the work of the Spirit all around us.
I look forward to worshipping, serving, visiting, ministering, and praying with and alongside you all in the years to come. And, I look forward to continuing to see the ways that God provides, through glimpses of the Spirit’s presence, light for each step in our journey.
