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Dear Christ the King Community,

I am about to do a new thing;

    now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?....Isaiah 43:19

As I write to you, we have already arrived at the parsonage and are deep into the unpacking process.  We are certainly perceiving new things…..a new house, a new school, a new culture.

Many of you may have experienced new things as well this summer.  Maybe you have visited new places, moved to a new home, moved adult children into new homes, or added a family member into your home.   

David, Maeve, and I have found plenty of opportunities to rejoice throughout our transition to Houston.  We rejoiced in Guatemala as we were finally able to dedicate classrooms at Hope Academy STEAM school for girls alongside our Guatemalan partners and travelers from a variety of US-based churches and organizations.  We rejoiced as our Pennsylvania family, friends, and congregation celebrated our ministry and helped us to pack up our home.  We have rejoiced time and time again as we have experienced your hospitality upon our arrival in Houston; and we thank you for the meals, childcare, transportation, tips, and care you have already given to our family.

At the same time, I will acknowledge that change is hard.  I felt great sadness as we gave our last hugs to our Guatemalan family, staff, and students.  I teared up as I distributed communion at my home congregation in PA, knowing it may be the last time I participated in God’s grace embodied around God’s table in that space.  And I embraced family members and friends, a little bit longer and a little bit stronger than usual as we said our “not-goodbye’s,” but “see you later.”  I was experiencing a visceral separation from my past reality, as I stepped into the airport realizing a new era has most surely begun.

While many of us individually have experienced changes this summer, as a community, we also have begun a new season with new things springing forth.  We rejoice in giving thanks for the ministries of many who have served Christ the King in recent months who are now moving into new seasons of their own lives.  We take comfort knowing the Holy Spirit has and continues to guide us into a new creation.  

One of the most brave and faithful responses during a season of change is to be present and vulnerable together, while embracing a spirit of curiosity.  I look forward to spending time getting to know each of you, to moments of grace when you remind me of your name a seventh time, to deep conversation and listening together, and to visioning God’s future for Christ the King.

I am about to do a new thing;

    now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?

Yes, God, I perceive it. We perceive it.  Guide us.  Amen.

Grace and peace and above all hope,

Pastor Jennifer