A Note From Pastor Bruce

Beloved People of God,

“I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.” – Ephesians 1:16

On June 11, 1995, I was ordained into the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. I was ordained to be a pastor of the Church. I remember the moment vividly and with humility. Dozens of hands were placed heavily upon my head by the pastors present as the bishop shared the invitation for me to accept this holy calling. I was enthusiastic about serving the church and have been for thirty years. (The Latin root of that word, ‘enthusiasm,’ means, “with God.”) Believe it or not, I’m still filled with that sense of enthusiasm.

That may seem an odd thing to say, given the fact that I am retiring and my ministry with you is ending. I continue to be enthusiastic about the ministry because through these years, I have been blessed to be surrounded by so many who have embodied that same sense of enthusiasm . As my ministry at St. Stephen concludes, I thank you for your thoughts, prayers, cards, and presence. Thank you for sharing in the vision and mission God has set before us. Thank you for being partners in Christ and for being a church where God’s love truly lives!

As my ministry with you comes to a close, I encourage you to continue to be enthusiastically committed to the mission and ministry of St. Stephen. This congregation will continue to have a deep and abiding effect on our lives and the lives of those in our community. We have a key to what our world needs. Amid the fear, the grief, the turmoil that we experience daily, it is God’s love realized in Jesus Christ that makes the difference. It is this love that is the only real path to wholeness and peace. And it can only be shared if you share it. Martin Luther once shared that we are called to be, “Little Christ,” to others. In other words, you are God’s love in action!

In the last twenty-five years we have seen some wonderful and some very challenging changes within our congregation and community. The number of people in our community who have walked away from any church and are classified as, “nones,” has increased exponentially. We’ve witnessed many churches experience “Holy closure.” We’ve been through the worst recession since the Great Depression and through a pandemic in which the entire world was shut down. Increasingly, people are becoming more apathetic toward church and critics think Christianity is antiquated. Yet, through all of that, our congregation has grown over 350% in those twenty-five years. Why is that? I believe it is because through it all, our task has been, and continues to be, to share the love of God, share our respect for all of God’s children, and embody the values that help us all to grow to love like Christ.

I believe that we Christians, have always been a source of hope. It has been my privilege to be part of a community that enthusiastically shares that hope by baptizing children and adults, inviting people into a community of caring and growth, remembering the sacrifice of Christ by breaking the bread and sharing the cup, offering comfort and consolation to those who mourn, and praying for all who yearn for an understanding of God’s graciousness and mercy.

Thanks be to God for this ministry. And thanks be to God for allowing me to partner in this ministry with you. You are the hope for the future. You are a church where love lives!

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Bruce