From the Pastor’s Pen

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

                                                                                                                                                Ecclesiastes 3:1

The time has come for us to part ways, and yet I find that I can not say good bye.  There is a deep fondness in my heart for the Mont Vernon Congregational Church Community, and the joy that I have known in this place will remain with me long after I depart.  In the 20 months that I have served this faithful fellowship, I have come to know God with a deepness and a richness that has touched my soul. 

In the early days of my ministry among you, you shared with me that your community felt broken.  Together we trusted that God would give us a time of healing.  You shared with me that your community felt tired.  Together we trusted that God would give us a time of rejuvenation.  You shared with me that your community felt lost.  Together we trusted that God would give us direction.

My friends in Christ, the Spirit of God has given us a season of change.  I have watched as the Mont Vernon Congregational Church Community has been transformed.  There is life in abundance in this fellowship, and the possibilities that are in your midst are plentiful.  I leave you knowing that new ministries have taken seed in this house of God, and that they are sprouting to life.  I leave you knowing that new voices have found their way into the leadership of your church, and they speak with richness and vitality.  I leave you knowing that trust, honesty, compassion, and hope have become the values that are lifted up as you walk together in faith.  I leave you knowing that there is a bright future ahead, for you are children of God called to new life in Christ Jesus.

Many years ago I heard a verse sung by the monks of the Weston Priory, and as I prepare to move onto a new ministry, I leave you with their words:

“I want to say something to all of you

who have become a part of the fabric

of my life.

There is an energy in us that makes things happen

when the paths of other persons cross ours,

and we need to be there and let it happen.

For when the time of our particular sunset comes,

our accomplishment,

our great thing, will not matter,

but the clarity and care with which

we have loved each other will speak with vitality of the great

gift of life we have become.”

My life has indeed been enriched by my time in your midst.  I know that God continues to lead each of you in new and exciting directions, and that the Congregational Church in Mont Vernon will proclaim the joy of the gospel message for years to come.  So I will not say good bye, rather I say to each of you, until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Yours in faith,

Pastor David Jadlocki