As 2025 comes to a close, it feels right to pause not to measure success, but to remember. To notice where God showed up among us. To listen again for how Jesus shaped us, stretched us, and stayed with us, guided by the quiet, persistent work of the Holy Spirit.
If I had to name this year with one phrase, I think it would be this: we spent the year with Jesus and we trusted the Spirit to lead us along the way.
From Advent through Pentecost, our worship life intentionally lingered with Jesus. We stayed close to his birth and early life, his ministry and teachings, his confrontation with power, his suffering, death, and resurrection. We resisted the urge to rush ahead, allowing the Spirit to form us slowly through Scripture, prayer, and shared worship.
During Lent, that closeness sharpened. In the Playing Chess series, we witnessed Jesus’ final days not as a tragic accident, but as purposeful and courageous. Jesus did not stumble toward the cross; he walked there on purpose. He spoke truth to power, refused violence, and revealed a kingdom shaped by love rather than domination. In a season when politics felt unavoidable and exhausting, the Spirit helped us see Jesus clearly and ourselves honestly.
Easter did not return us to easy certainty. Instead, Resurrection Road honored fear, doubt, scars, and responsibility. The risen Christ met the disciples in locked rooms and ordinary routines, breathing peace and purpose into them. Pentecost reminded us that resurrection life continues through the Holy Spirit, empowering the church to carry Jesus’ love into the world.
Later in the year, Accessible Grace brought it home. Again and again, the Spirit reminded us that the kingdom of God is near meeting us in shame and anxiety, grief and abundance, storms and stillness. Grace was not distant. It was within reach.
We also carried grief this year. In 2025, we entrusted beloved members of our community to God’s eternal care: Errol Baxter, Bruce Benstein, Sue Croom, Denny Duszak, J Fazel, Liane Lenski, Wayne Peterson, Eleanor Schaub, and Corrine Steinbis. We also hold the many loved ones lost this year whose names live quietly in our hearts and prayers.
In memorials and funerals, the Spirit gathered us through tears, hymns, silence, and hope. Greeters, bakers, dishwashers, Stephen Ministers, and Friendly Visitors offered steady, compassionate care. In our grief, God did not abandon us. The Spirit met us with comfort and presence, reminding us that love is stronger than death.
This year marked a new chapter in our life together with the arrival of Rev. Heather Connor and their family. This was more than a staffing change; it was a Spirit-led step toward intentional discipleship and outreach. It has been a risk, an experiment, and in these early months, it already feels deeply right. God is doing meaningful ministry among us.
We continued traditions that stretch us, like the Rummage Sale and Swedish Days, not for our own budget, but for the sake of others. In 2025 alone, we shared more than $150,000 beyond our walls through first-mile and second-mile mission giving. As needs increased, often intensified by policy changes and uncertainty, we did not retreat. The Spirit nudged us forward in generosity.
We supported neighbors through World Relief and The Neighbor Project. We awarded 11 scholarships, including one connected to a mission partner. We sent nearly 30 people on Appalachia Service Project for the 42nd ‘consecutive’ year, trusting the Spirit to form disciples through service and shared work.
We opened our doors—and our conversations. Peace and Wellness Circles created Spirit-shaped spaces for honest dialogue, guided by restorative justice practices. Pub Theology carried faithful conversation beyond church walls into real-world settings where questions were welcome and grace was practiced.
We welcomed more than 20 new children into our programs this year. While not every family is here every Sunday yet, belonging is taking root. The Spirit works on a longer timeline than our calendars.
We stewarded our physical home with care and foresight—repairing roofs and windows, restoring stained glass, improving efficiency, and tending gardens that reflect life and vitality. Guided by a 40-year vision and empowered by the generosity of the UMGFund, we cared for what has been entrusted to us without burdening future generations.
In a disposable culture, we chose faithfulness to people, to place, and to the planet trusting the Spirit’s work of renewal.
As I reflect on 2025, if I had to pick just a word and not a phrase, the word that rises for me is courage. Spirit-given courage.
I saw it in a church that stepped up to protect immigrants who worship and serve among us, and those in our wider community. I saw it in Spirited Women who engaged hard conversations and translated them into action. I saw it in our commitment to creation care, choosing responsibility when convenience would have been easier.
We are far from perfect. But we are trying to be faithful and fruitful as we live our purpose as disciples of Jesus Christ. I am deeply grateful for the leadership God has provided in this season, especially in Rev. Heather Connor, whom I believe the Holy Spirit has raised up for this moment in the life of our church. Together, we are learning to be the church God calls us to be: forming disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously.
As we step toward 2026, we do so with gratitude not because the year was easy, but because God was faithful. Jesus stayed with us. The Spirit led us. And by God’s grace, we will keep becoming a church that shines bright into our dark world.
Thanks be to God.
