From the Desk The Pastor

“Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.” 

-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, GNT

 

 

Well, here we go. After all the “lasts” that have come and passed during my final few months at Canton UMC—one last Camp Sunday (although we did not know it at the time), one last journey through Holy Week, one last Chi Alpha… The time has come for one last website article.

 

And if there is anything I want to say in my last article it is this: thank you. Thank you for the last five years together. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as your pastor in this season. Your love and care for me and my family will never be forgotten. When we arrived in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, you got to only partially celebrate Pastor Steve’s retirement. And rather than using that as a reason to not be excited about the arrival of the Lundberg family, you welcomed us in and made us as much a part of the community as anyone else. You welcomed our children to be who they are during worship, even if that meant I was preaching while holding a child or answering questions from my own children during children’s sermons. And especially in these past few weeks, you have supplied us with meals while we have been packing. 

 

We have been through so much in just these five years. Some of it has been good; some of it has been challenging. Some of it has been heartbreaking, and some of it has been inspiring. 

 

We have said hard goodbyes at funerals. I look around the sanctuary sometimes and think about who used to sit where and smile at some of the memories I am preparing to take with me. I also look around the sanctuary and smile about the new faces around “the family of God.” 

 

We celebrated high and holy moments in baptisms and confirmations. We have had joyous times at weddings and worked side by side as we fed the masses during the Turkey Supper. I also threw a gallon of milk at Margaret Schultz; sorry again about that, Margaret. 

 

This has been a life-changing five years for my family and me. And we am just so thankful for you all. 

 

At the end of all of the Apostle Paul’s letters, he gives the churches he is writing to some practical advice for how to live out their faith. In the letters themselves, Paul tackles deep theological topics and responds to questions that have been asked by the church. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul has dealt with false teachings that have troubled the church, the nature of his apostleship, and the reality of death in the midst of the promise of the resurrection. And he ends with practical advice for how to live out faith in a real way: be joyful always (which is bigger than “just being happy”), pray always, and give thanks at all times. 

This is all good advice that will lead us to a more fulfilled walk with Christ and experience the abundant life Jesus had in store for us. And so, as our time together draws to a close, this is the best advice I can pass on to you. 

 

Be joyful! Yes, the way our time is coming to a close is not exactly how I had planned or hoped, yet I know that our joy in Christ is bigger than our circumstances. I have seen the way we have all grown in our faith, and as a pastor, that is the most joyful thing I can see. 

 

Pray always! Jesus gave us a great example to follow as he laid his work aside regularly to do nothing more than this: to pray. As we grow in Christ-likeness, this ought to become part of how we live as well. There are big and important things for us to do, but the most important must be prayer.  

 

Give thanks to God! I have given thanks to God for you everyday I have been able to be your pastor, and as I take the lessons I have learned here into a new context, I will continue to give thanks to God for you during your time with Pastor Rob and beyond.