It’s been two years since I arrived at NPC.  I don’t know that I would quite call this a State of the Congregation Address, but it seems fitting to reflect a little.

The Presbyterian process is somewhat strange in that, as a pastor, you interview, get an offer from a Committee, agree to the offer, sell your house, move, enroll your children in school......and then the congregation votes on whether or not you can be their pastor.  Thank you for voting in the af- firmative.  It would have been mighty awkward running into you at Kroger otherwise.

Since I have been here, I have been watching, studying, and learning.  Last month, I asked you to share with me who you think we are.  I asked you to describe the culture here.  Some of you responded, and I am grateful to you.  I also promised that I would share my thoughts on the subject.  Here they are.

I believe we are a warm and inviting congregation.  Now, anyone can claim that, because it’s pretty hard to measure, so let me put it a little more concretely.  I believe that it is very difficult for a visitor to get out of the building without someone finding out their name.

More importantly, I believe this happens, not because it is someone’s job to find out, but because people here are genuinely welcoming.

I believe we do a good job of taking care of each other.  Last September, I sent an email to the congregation asking who was affected by the flooding and who needed help.  I was overwhelmed with the number of responses I received that said something like, “We are fine, but keep us informed.  We can pitch in.”

I believe we enjoy being around each other.  I love to see people headed out to lunch after wor- ship, or hear about people spending time together outside of church activities.

I believe we are a people who step up.  We have sponsored our own Habitat House.  We had 18 people run a total of 314.4 miles to raise over $10,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  In a year when many congregations cut budgets and staff, we were actually able to increase our pledged giving in order to present a balanced budget.

And, I believe all of these things present great opportunities and challenges for us.

We must never allow ourselves to slide into only being warm and inviting to those who are already connected.  We must always be on the lookout for who might need help, so that we might be there ready to act.  We cannot afford to invite someone in only to leave them on their own once they’re here.  The simple fact is we may feel like a small church, but we are not a small church.  Not everyone knows everyone else.  The “stranger” we welcome may be the person who has sat on the other end of the pew from us for months.

In the coming months, we will further explore who God is calling us to be.  I believe we are poised to do some great things here, and I am excited about what God has laid out for us.  I look forward to hearing from you as we continue on this journey together.

Peace,

Patrick