Greetings to all the saints in Christ Jesus of Fairbury United Methodist Church,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Nancy and I are grateful for the many and varied ways you all have welcomed and blessed us with your love and kindness. Thank you!
Thank you to Rev. Ann Champion for her kindness, generosity, help and love! You have made this transition much easier.
We have been in several conversations that have included the observation of how moving and the transition associated with pastoral change seem to be different at this stage of life. Different is possibly an understatement, as we recognize everyone is undergoing change at this time. You all have said, “farewell” to a good and faithful servant of Christ’s Church with Rev. Ann Champion moving, and all the many and varied ways in which change has impacted each of you. We are drawn to the direction of God’s Word for direction in this new day:
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Philippians 3:12-16
We are grateful for the wonderful experiences of ministry we have been privileged to share. Jesus reminds us that we are not finished, so we are moving forward to the ministry He has for us today! We all may move forward in confident assurance of what we have learned and been taught as we share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have the witness that if we “are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you.” We may trust God’s Word, His Holy Spirt, and His Church. If we miss the mark, or are distracted from our mission, God will woo and draw us to press on to the goal of his upward call in Christ Jesus. An old folk saying often comes to mind: A wise old owl lived in an oak, the more he saw the less he spoke; the less he spoke, the more he heard. Why can’t we all be like that bird?
We praise God for your love and patience as we adjust to life in Fairbury and the wonderful joy of ministry we share together as Jesus’ Church. We put our hands to the plow of the call of Jesus Christ! We invite you to celebrate as we look to what our great and mighty God has before us in this task of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere, everyway, and every day; as we seek to help folks discover the joy of being Born Again and walking day by day with Jesus!
Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love undying.
In Him,
Paul and Nancy Wier