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Beloved, we are God’s Children now; what we will be has not been revealed. – 1 John 3:2a


The future is mysterious even to us or, maybe, especially to us. “What we will be has not been revealed,” the writer of 1 John tells us, announcing our future hope, which is grounded in the reality that “we are God’s children now.” Even as it evolves out of the present, the future has a mind of its own, and life surprises us. God is at work in ways that we don’t see immediately.

This weekend we celebrate paying off the mortgage. Twenty years ago, the campaign was “Embrace the Vision…Seize the Opportunity” as our congregation moved forward in building for the future. There are many stories to tell of how the building project evolved through faithful and dedicated leaders prayerfully discerning and following God’s lead. Surprises happened that strengthened and grounded the faith of our community in moving forward and saying, “I believe.” Projects like completing the Community Room, purchasing a 21 stop-25 ranked pipe organ, and furnishing the youth room were some of the many surprises along the way. 

The plans of God grow out of our current moment. Those leaders in our congregation twenty years ago took a step into the future in faith and as they look back, they see something bigger than they imagined. The work of becoming what God has in mind for us is a partnership between God and us, a mysterious path of evolution using our talents and effort, plus God’s movement forward. We move toward the future with purposes we hardly see, rooted in our identity as God’s children. We need not fear the future, for we will be then what we are now — God’s beloved people. Amen. 

More pictures from the ground breaking, construction, and dedication