Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
           
Grace and peace to you in the name of God our Creator, Christ our Savior and the Holy Spirit, our guiding presence!   The day of Pentecost has come!   Today is the birthday of the church and we celebrate God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to the church of Jesus Christ!  Pentecost is the day in which the truth of God’s word and presence in our lives becomes real through us - God’s church! In Acts, the original “First Church,” filled with prayerful, yet frightening and beleaguered Christians, was blown away by the Holy Spirit!  Empowered by God’s Spirit they stood up, stepped forward and began a movement that changed the world.  God took the faithful seed of the Christians and planted a mighty band of believers who - beginning in Jerusalem and spreading to all the corners of the earth - became transformers of the world.

I have been praying a lot in recent days about our “First Church” and our place in this city.   As with our forbearers in faith, I believe God is calling us to a very special mission and ministry in the heart of Columbus, Ohio, for such a time such as this.  As God’s people in this generation, we are uniquely gifted and prominently positioned to make a difference in Columbus for generations to come.   We stand at a breakthrough point.  The question is: How shall we act as God’s people to move boldly forward in faith in the days ahead? Let us take our lead from the very “First Church!”  They were a GREAT church! They were a praying church, a worshiping church, a loving church, a generous and giving church, a forgiving church, a visioning church, a growing church, a mission church and a church for all people everywhere.  I believe we have all these marks of a great church and even more.  I believe, in the power of God’s Holy Spirit, we need to name and claim our gifts and step forward in holy boldness.

In the past year, we have been blessed in many ways. God has sent us exceptional new staff and 90 new members - including our largest confirmation class in 20 years!  We are truly blessed by our current staff.  God’s spirit and energy are flowing through these amazing servants of God.  Their beautiful collection of wisdom, faith, energy, vision, laughter and love has given me, and all of us, new hope! In addition to the staff, our newest members remind us that Christ has placed us here to regenerate and recreate his church each day.  Our new members are spiritual, prayerful and joyful.  They help me see the goodness of God’s love and the blessings of this church for our community and world. On this Pentecost 2008, I believe we are poised to step into our own time of greatness in Columbus.  I believe we are ready to grow and ready to “glow” again for Christ.