It seems like we’ve been getting ready to launch Saint James-Kingstowne forever and now time is getting short until it actually happens. How close is October 21st? 17 days and about 10 hours from now. The pieces are coming together. The launch team met at the Franconia Volunteer Fire Department Bingo Hall this past Sunday night to get a feel for the room. We broke out into smaller teams to be sure we had the details covered (not a strong point for me but fortunately, a strong point for Erika, our assistant pastor, and others on the team). How do you make a  temporary place a welcoming community gathering spot? What are the pieces besides our mission, vision, and values that we can bring with us to Saint James-Kingstowne and what will grow up there on its own?

Essentially the closer we get, the more I have an opportunity to reflect on what is most important about who we are and what we offer. I know that for me, I offer the experience of Jesus I cannot live without, the absolute acceptance and unconditional love of Jesus. That truth has shaped me and has shaped the ministry I do and has shaped the community of which I have a part in leading. I know that we have open hearted people who want to share the journey of faith with others. I know our style is a bit different than some other churches (just like everyone is different). In the end it was our desire to be in the intersections of everyday life that brought us to launching Saint James-Kingstowne. It was a pulling, a calling, a loving placed on our hearts from beyond ourselves that brought us here.

I don’t know what the future holds (nobody does- duh!). I know that Jesus journeys with us into the future, that he has gone ahead of us much as was promised at the tomb when the young man at Jesus’ tomb said to the women who had come to anoint his body in Mark 16:7:

But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Jesus goes ahead of us and so I hold on to that, trusting that he is already where I am heading and is waiting there for me, for us.