Dear Friends,

As I was driving to church the other day, Hammond Street was blocked at Grace Street. That was just the way I wanted to go! So I had to imagine another way to the church. I know, it is easy to go to the next block and turn. But I knew if I did that, and more than one block of Hammond Street was blocked, I would be set up for a rabbit warren of back streets to get to the church! But I took the chance and was in luck. Such a simple thing. Yet it reminds me that there are many ways to get to the church, both literally and figuratively. Quite literally, we have folks who drive from the reservoir and the Elm City area, Nashville, Red Oak, Edgecombe County and all parts of Rocky Mount. Figuratively speaking, many of our community of faith are cradle Presbyterians, while many come from other traditions or no tradition. Some of us come as children growing up surrounded by a loving family of faith, and others come as adults still learning. Some of us take the long and convoluted route filled with twists and turns. Just as there are many streets that lead to our sanctuary, so there are many journeys that lead us to become one in Jesus Christ. As Jesus welcomed all, we too seek to welcome all who would come to worship the Living Lord. Join your family of faith each Sunday morning!

Recently our newly elected elders gathered for a time of learning. It was a time of spirited discussion about the great documents of the church, what they say about our faith tradition, and what some of the words mean. The upshot of it all is that later this spring I will begin a sermon series on the Lord's Prayer and the Great Creeds of the Church. It may be a refresher course for some of you, but for others it may be a great time to learn more about the church universal and the Presbyterian Church as well as your own faith. And it will be in the old Reformed tradition of expository preaching where the preacher opens up the great doctrines that are the foundation of the church and seeks to explain them. It will not be in the style that is much more prevalent today - a style of preaching that is more a motivational or a therapeutic/ self-help speech than preaching the kerygma, the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.