Dear Church,

May is a moment just after we have gathered like travelers in a bustling train station. Holy Week, Overflow, and Graduation meant invitations, feasts, hugs, and heartfelt goodbyes on the platform before we board our train to another place. Where are you headed? Are you a college grad headed for a job in a faraway city? A parent headed with your kids into spring sports, field trips, and proms? An empty-nester excited for an Ann Arbor summer? A hard-worker who is ready for that long-awaited vacation? Whoever you are and wherever you’re headed, the presence of Christ goes with you. Even when we are apart, we live sent together. So, as a fellow traveler, I offer you a prayer of blessing for the journey:

“Father, thank you for the gift of both our departures and our arrivals and also for those moments in-between. Thank you for both our greetings and our goodbyes, our welcomes and our well-wishes. Thank you for being a God who moves, a God who would rather set up a tent in our midst than dwell in some sedentary temple far away. Let your presence always go with us, for you alone are our food, our water, our shelter, and our warmth. Most of all, open our eyes to the true meaning of our journeys: that every pilgrimage is a seeking after you, and you are already right here, right now. May it be so always in Jesus’ Name, AMEN.”

It is a joy to be your pastor and a fellow pilgrim on the road,

Kyle Chase, on Behalf of the Elder and Minister Team