Dear Church Family. 

Some of you know, others of you may not...my mom, Maxine, has experienced a health crisis in the past two weeks.  Much of this past week has been spent helping her with this need.  On Wednesday mom was transferred to Firesteel Care Center and was also placed in hospice care.  Mom continues to get weaker and weaker. 

I appreciate all of your prayers!!  I also appreciate the grace of my staff and the leadership of this church allowing me flexibility in my schedule in this difficult time.  As John Wesley said as he was dying, "Best of all...God is with us!"  Those words are still true yet today!  Best of all...God is with us!!

Serving Together,

Pastor Keith

P.S. Below is my reflection.  It is actually from a few years ago but its message is still true yet today.

It Is A Beautiful Day 08.23.2024

There’s a little jingle I remember from when my children were young.  The words go like this; “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor.  Would you be mine?  Could you be mine?”  OK Everybody, Sing Along!!!  It’s the theme song to Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.  The song ends with these words; “So, let’s make the most of this beautiful day.  Since we’re together we might as well say; Would you be mine?  Could you be mine? Please won’t you be my neighbor?”  
This song was sung at the beginning of the show, and then what followed was Mr. Rogers would tell stories and introduce people that showed how we all can be neighbors in our communities and in this world that we live in.  We are all connected…or at least we can be.

An unfortunate reality of our world is that we tend to get to know the people in our own little realm of the world and we humans tend to not look much further.  We know who we know, we like who we know, and we tend to leave it at that.  This is part of the human reality that Mr. Rogers was trying to overcome with his show.  He was trying to show that different people, different races, different cultures and traditions all had something of beauty to offer the rest of the world.  

Yet, Mr. Rogers was also trying to show that as much as we all may be different, in so many ways we’re all the same, in that we want to be loved, cared for, and to be valued.  So, Mr. Rogers kept introducing the viewers to new people, new situations, new experiences and singing that same song; “Would you be mine? Could you be mine?  Please won’t you be my neighbor.”  You see, what Mr. Rogers kept reminding us, over and over again, is that to be a good neighbor we have to get to know and value our neighbors.  

Do you realize that our church building has been at the same location for over 110 years?  There have been a lot of neighbors that have come and gone over those years.  In fact, many long-term residents of the area would say our neighborhood has changed a lot in the past 50 years.  So, a good question to ask, do we know our neighbors?  If we as a church believe that God has placed us in our downtown location to make a difference in this neighborhood, do we know our neighbors well enough to build relationships with them, to understand their concerns and what they value in life, so that we can share the journey of life and faith with them?   All too often the answer is “no, we really don’t know our neighbors.”

Thus, a key component of ministry and being the church is that of getting to know our neighbors.  This is the community that God has placed us in to do the work of Kingdom Building.  My challenge for myself and each one of us is that we would take some time during the last half of this year to get to know our neighbors.  Take the time to visit with them, learn about them, be interested in them, build a relationship with them, and if the opportunity arises and you think they’d be open to it, invite them to join you for worship, or a serving opportunity, or for fellowship.  Our getting to know our neighbors isn’t just about getting members or a hidden evangelism motive, it’s really about sharing something wonderful we have that we want others to experience too…the love and grace of God and the community of a church family.  Let’s be good neighbors.  After all, it is a beautiful day in our neighborhood.

Serving Together,

Pastor Keith