August 13

Beloved of Good Shepherd Church,

Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!

We have been together for 8 years, and I have loved every minute of it. August 15th, 2018 was my first day in the office, and our first Sunday together was August 19th. In a thousand ways it feels like we’re just getting started. When Kristin and I were discerning the call to come join you at Good Shepherd, I was in steady contact with my spiritual director. One day he said something that I’ve carried with me these 8 years and I suspect I will carry with me for the rest of my life. He said, “In discerning a call there is only one question that really matters. All the other questions rest upon your answer to this one question. The question is, Can I love these people? It’s a simple matter of love, he said. Can you love these people?” I took that question to heart as I discerned that God was calling us to Good Shepherd. My answer then was, Yes. My answer today is, Yes! Our future is bright with love!

We use that question in discernment at Good Shepherd when folks are discerning calls to our various areas of ministry. The first question for potential vestry members is, “Can you love the people of our parish?” The primary question for members discerning a call to one of our pastoral care teams is, “Can you love the people of our parish?” The most important question for people discerning a call to work with our children and youth is, “Can you love them?” When Jesus was saying, Goodbye, to his disciples after the resurrection, he said something similar to them. He said, “Everyone will know that you are my friends and disciples by the way you love one another.”

Everyone who comes through our doors is hungry to know and feel the love of God. You are God’s best delivery system for love. Thank you so much for the way you love God, love me, and love each other. The way you love is a powerful, magnetic testimony to your faith in Jesus Christ.

Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!

Love is all, 

Hendree+