Give us faith to go out with good courage...

"Lord God,
you have called 

your servants to ventures 

of which we cannot see the ending,
by paths as yet untrodden,
through perils unknown.
Give us faith to go out 

with good courage,

not knowing where we go,
but only that your hand is leading us
and your love supporting us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen."

-- from the Book of Common Prayer

Lord,

I have prayed 

that prayer many times

as I pack

to move my family

to Columbia, South Carolina.

I trust that 

you are with us,

you are leading us,

you are going before us,

walking beside us,

holding us...

But not just for us;

You are doing the same

for our friends

we leave behind.

I leave the beloved people

of Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church

with the good courage,

knowing that while 

we do not know where the path leads,
I DO KNOW that your hand is leading them
and your love supporting them;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen!

_________

Over the past five years, it has been my privilege to serve as pastor of Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church.  Sunday, September 25, 2016 is my last Sunday leading worship in Elizabethtown, NC.

In October I will begin a new chapter serving as pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC.