“Rooted in Gratitude, Reaching in Hope”
Dear friends in Christ,
November always seems to invite reflection. The air cools, the days shorten, and our hearts turn naturally toward gratitude — for the blessings of the year, for the people who make our lives full, and for the faithfulness of God that threads quietly through it all.
This year, that gratitude runs especially deep. In just a few days, on Tuesday, November 12th at 6:00 p.m., we will gather at Salem Lutheran Church with Bishop Jen Nagel to review our Ministry Site Profile (MSP) — the document thattells the story of who we are as a congregation and where we sense God leading us next. That conversation marks the final step before installing our Call Committee and beginning interviews with pastoral candidates.
It’s an exciting milestone — not just for what comes next, but for what it says about what has already been done.
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to those who served so faithfully on the MSP Committee and the Transition Committee. You prayed, listened, discussed, and discerned with such care and honesty. You named both our joys and our challenges. You asked good questions. You helped shape a profile that doesn’t just describe this congregation — it reflects its heart.
And to all of you — the congregation — thank you. Thank you for showing up. For your laughter at fellowship time, your voices in worship, your honesty in conversations, and your patience with the process. You’ve reminded me again and again that the Church isn’t built on programs or paperwork, but on people — people who love God, love one another, and keep showing up to see what God will do next.
There’s a quiet confidence growing here. You can feel it. A sense that the Spirit has been preparing the soil for something new — something that will honor what’s come before while opening fresh possibilities for ministry ahead.
And so, as we move into this final stage of the call process, I invite you to hold onto three simple words: trust, gratitude, and hope.
Trust — that God’s timing is good and God’s hand is steady.Gratitude — for the people who have brought us to this moment.Hope — for the ministry yet to unfold through you and through the pastor who will one day call this congregation home.
As we gather with Bishop Nagel, I pray we will do so not with anxiety, but with joy — joy that we’ve come this far together, and joy that God is not finished writing the story of this church.
May your November be filled with warmth, with thanksgiving, and with the quiet assurance that the One who began this good work among you will be faithful to bring it to completion.
With gratitude and peace,
Pastor Jerod
