This month, we invited our bloggers to write a “love letter” to the church. Here are their letters.
Dear church,
I love you because you have empowered me to lead. You did not squelch my voice when I finally spoke up and said I felt called to ministry. You helped me answer the call to serve your people, even when I was frustratingly stubborn. You have opened a world of opportunities I would have never known outside your beloved community. I am grateful that this has been my experience because I know it has not been the experience of some of my sisters (and brothers). I pray that soon we will empower all the voices of our people and learn to really hear them.
I love you church because even amidst your human imperfection you are trying to love all the people of God. For many it seems like that loves starts in our polity when we make official statements on the full inclusion of all people or when we walk the streets of St. Louis to bring about bail reform. Yet, I know your secret. I know these conversations that shape us and call us to love deeper start not at our General Assembly or session meetings. I know they start around dining room tables, in pews and at tables in Bible study where we wrestle with God’s word and what it means to love each other. I know our capacity to love more widely and expansively begins in our own lives as we walk with the ones we love. It is when before all else we love people as God’s beloved children, that I am most proud to proclaim, “That’s my church!”
I love you beloved community because even though the numbers all seem to be going down when we would like them to be going up, you show up anyway. You long to listen to where God is calling us next and you try earnestly to understand that where we are now will help us get to where we are called to be. As we continue to reform through the ages, you do not quit showing up to worship, to study, to serve, to dream, to love. You are most beautiful when you dive deep into our connectional church roots and realize none of us are in this alone — from the tiniest rural church on the frozen plains to the largest urban church in the warm sun.
Your history is beautiful, your future is bright! My wish for you is to see yourself when you are at your best as I can see you. My prayer is that you see the church that feeds people, that welcomes the unloved, that rolls with a tiny loaf of pumpkin bread for Christmas Eve communion, that lifts its voice for the oppressed and embraces fully this broken yet beautiful world. You will never be perfect church, but you are called by God to love God’s people and creation. You have been gifted with what it takes to be the hands and feet of Jesus. May you continue to trust in God’s providence as we navigate the path forward together.
With love,
Pastor Becca
REBECCA GRESHAM-KESNER is pastor at Faith Presbyterian Church in Medford, New Jersey. Outside of church and family life, you can find her in nature, finding fun ways to be creative or asking awkwardly deep questions of people she just met.
