State of the Church 2017

It Matters

I care deeply about the Church. Better said, I care deeply about this church. God is at work in the midst of our community of faith. Over the past year I have seen us grow in faith and faithfulness. I find that few things bring me more joy than when someone expresses that they have found God’s presence and purpose in their daily lives because of our collective ministry at Sheridan.
Sheridan remains a faithful community in the midst of what is happening in our society. Are you aware that the largest segment of people in our nation has no religious affiliation? The technical term for them are, “the nones.” Nones align themselves with no organized community of faith. Often under the phrase that they are “spiritual but not religious” these folks go through life trying to connect with the Divine, but doing so alone and on their own terms. This phenomenon saddens me. And it does so because I love the church – this church!

I love this church because God’s church matters!

What we do at Sheridan matters. God connects with us. We connect with each other. We continue to learn. We grow in our faith. When we come here, we see that we matter to others. We help those who are hurting, know that they matter to God.

What we do from here matters. Others see God’s face in and through us. We serve within our community in many ways and travel across the globe to a variety of places. We give more than funding, we give effort and ultimately, we share the love of God in a mutual relationship that grows the hearts of the serving and the served.

What we do matters to God. We are called to be like Christ to others. I believe when we serve in the manner of Jesus, we make God smile.

What we do matters to us. I believe that, through Jesus, Sheridan helps us become the best version of ourselves. We are to never stop growing, learning and finding joy. We are better for being here and we are better together than we are alone.

In this year, we will continue to emphasize how our ministry at Sheridan matters. As we move forward, take the time to reflect with the Holy Spirit on how important this community is to you…and how important you are – and we are.

You are important to me. It remains a privilege to be your pastor.