By Rev. James Buckman
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I pray you and yours are well. Monday, the 28th, I am booked on a flight that starts me on my trip to the Antarctic. So, this weekend will be the last time I am in worship with you. You will be in my prayers. Please reach out to me via email with any prayer needs or to catch up.
Sarah Chang, our Communication Specialist, set up a Facebook page where we are posting pictures and updates. It is a public link, so please feel free to share it on your social media.
Rick Bersano, our Congregational President, will be stepping in to handle my role of day-to-day supervision of the staff. Steve Baughman, our Head Elder, is working with all of our Elders to make sure any spiritual needs are met. Please feel free to contact either of them at any time with any questions (except for, “Are the Cardinals really the best team in baseball?”).
Rick asked me yesterday what he could do for my family while I’m gone. I thanked him for the offer; my biggest request is that you keep Cathy and our children (Jacob, Jim, Sarah, John, and Grace) in your prayers. We have done deployments as a family before, but the most important thing is faith; so thank you for your prayer coverage of my family.
Pray for me also that I will be fearless in sharing the Gospel. We know the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and the Sacraments will have their intended effect.
You are making it possible to proclaim the Gospel, literally, to the ends of the earth. This mission trip could never happen without your support. So I praise God for your commitment to our mission statement- “We will glorify God by spreading the Gospel through our preaching, teaching, and living our daily lives.” I look forward to seeing you this weekend before I leave.