January 2025

A message for the New Year:

Moving to a new year demands our attention to the cultural and civic liturgies of our lives. Purchasing a new calendar, for instance, used to be a ritual for the new year. When calendars were more prominent, bookstores would place them on sale almost as soon as the year turned. Calendar demand would soon shift, and people might forget to date their documents, but they still needed calendars including every day of the year.

Even without physical calendars, we are always aware of the beginning of a new year. Perhaps instead of focusing on the calendar, we might instead ask the question: How can we as faithful people approach the gift of a new year?

What might God mean for us to care about most? What causes and concerns does God place before us? What challenges do we face in our lives? How can we gain the strength to address these challenges? And of course, How can we live as people who reflect the power of the Holy Spirit as a normal aspect of our lives?

These questions might seem unanswerable. Yet as the year progresses, we trust in one true answer to all of these questions: God will reveal for us a way of truth and life.

After next Sunday, we begin the first seasonal step in this process of revelation as Epiphany helps us to understand how God works. Remember that the word itself offers an answer to our questions as well. Epiphany means “shining forth.” To me, this means that we will come to a better understanding of the light of Christ in our lives. It also means that we will be people who better reflect that light as well.

As we approach a new year at St. Peter’s, we give thanks for God’s blessings and all the ways that God has provided for us to serve. Of course, we pray for God to show us the way. And as we work together as people of faith, we pray that people will join us in our serving. We also pray that God will provide the resources for us to share Christ’s message more completely in the world. Most of all we trust that God not only answers our prayers, God provides us the faith and the strength to serve as we further God’s kingdom in this world.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Scott