From the General Minister and President

Dear Colleagues in Ministry,

These days I am thanking God especially for all of you...

The large wooden cross at the front of the sanctuary where I worship most often is adorned with leafless branches. Vaguely purple in color, they add a stark, lonely beauty to the cross.

By this point in Lent, many of you may be feeling rather leafless and stark yourselves, as you contemplate moving into the overdrive of Holy Week. A Lenten season of pastors' classes and special studies and extra worship committee meetings along with the normal routines and surprises of congregational ministry may be taking its toll.

Holy Week brings drama and promise enough to provide its own rewards. Still, it takes your prayers, your behind-the-scenes encouragement and your upfront leadership help it all come together for the people you serve. As I imagine the myriad ways that Disciples congregations will travel the arc from Palm to Passion Sunday, renew the servant/love covenant of the Lord's Supper, enter into the somber depths of the tomb on Friday in order to emerge on Sunday into the power of Christ's resurrection now, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the ministries you offer.

You are in my prayers for abundant energy and an abiding sense of God's wholeness. I pray that even as the sanctuary in my Indianapolis congregation prepares to bloom with new life, that you, too, will be renewed in body and spirit as we celebrate God's eternal promise of life and hope and new beginnings.

Blessings,