November, 2024
by Rev. Bill Gupton
This is truly a liminal time. We await the decision, hopefully rendered peacefully and democratically, about what kind of society, culture, and nation we will be in the future. We share, together, these last few months of my ministry. We enter a poignant time of transition, in everything from politics to church life, to the weather. We remember those whom we have lost in the past year (All Souls Sunday) and prepare to welcome those still with us to the table of thanksgiving and harvest. We see the leaves burst with color – and know the silhouette of leafless branches against a gray sky awaits.
Any liminal time can be laced with anxiety, fraught with fear. What will happen to us? What will happen to the people and the institutions we love? Where is something solid that we can hold onto? Where is something solid that can hold onto us?
In this moment, I invite you to come home – come home to Heritage Church. Maybe it’s been a while since you worshipped in our sanctuary on a Sunday morning. Maybe, lately, you haven’t communicated with or connected with that friend in the church with whom you once were close. Maybe the kids have grown a foot since we last saw you, or you’ve experienced a major life transition. No matter. Heritage is here. The love and support are here. This has been a sanctuary – in every sense of that word – for 197 years now, and counting.
Or, maybe you come nearly every week. I hope it still feels like a homecoming, when you enter our doors. Maybe you can both welcome others, and be welcomed. That’s what church is all about.
Friends, we are going to need one another, this month, this winter, this year. As the seasons change – and as the seasons of our lives change – let Heritage Church be your rock, your constant, your place of refuge. This month, let us break bread together, let us open hearts, and let us hold fast to that which is eternal – including, most especially, the love that is the spirit of this church.
Blessings,
Bill