Dear Church,

In response to some important questions many of you have been asking the last few weeks: Yes, I did throw discuss in high school … and no, I did not plan in advance to hurl a loaf of sourdough into the balcony during a sermon. That was, in fact, a last minute calculation born of my love for balcony brothers and sisters whom I long to better include in the life of the service. However, I must specifically beg the pardon of one Brett Higgins who had to think fast in order to dodge my perishable projectile. Thankfully he survived to tell the tale and even received a wholesome snack as consolation.

Truly it is a joy to be God’s kid and to have you all as brothers and sisters in the Lord. What is more, we even got to celebrate some new siblings in the Lord just yesterday at our baptism service!

Seeing others baptized ought to remind all of us that we have gone from death to life, that our old life has gone and our new life has come, that we have made a decision to follow Jesus as the ultimate authority over our lives, that we are now included in a community of those who love Jesus, and that we have a unique mission in the world as part of the Body of Christ. All of this is an occasion for joy and gratitude and the breaking of bread together (balcony included).

Kyle Chase, on Behalf of the Elder and Minister Team