From the Pastor…

For the most part the Christmas parties are over. Some of us have taken down our Christmas decorations, except for the rednecks among us who leave them up all year long. The new years parties and hangovers are, well, over. It seems as if 2004, which was a year I thought would never end, has just started.

It occurs to me that 2004 was a tough year for both of us. It was tough for me being laid off and unemployed for the first time in my life. It was tough for you, Atonement, having yet another pastor leave after a short time of ministry with you. We are both 'wounded healers'. The writer Henri Nouwen  says that in order to be a successful pastoral caregiver (or any kind of giver) you must be a wounded healer. In order to empathize with hurting people, you must first acknowledge the hurts you yourself have encountered in life. Not everyone is able to do this soul searching because it makes us vulnerable. Being vulnerable can open the door to being hurt and the circle continues. 

But as one wounded healer speaking to another, being open and vulnerable is the only way that I know how to live. I thank all of you for opening your hearts and homes to me and helping me to do some healing.

I would hope that you would allow me the honor and the privilege to help you do some healing; to help you acknowledge some of the hurts your spirit still carries. I've heard about a few of them; the sudden deaths, the betrayals of trust, the hurt feelings and wounded pride.

In an effort to bring healing, but not to dismiss people's feelings, I am hoping that as we continue this journey together into 2005 you might acknowledge and then put aside some of the hurts and the negative energy that you haul around with you. My prayer for each of us is that we might be willing to start anew this new year. As Martin Luther tells us, in baptism each day is a new beginning for each and every brother and sister in Christ.