"Hello" from the Pastor

 Pastor’s Corner

Shalom y’all.  

Alison and I have just returned from a two-week road trip for my study leave this year. First, we traveled to  Louisville, KY with our son, Dave, and his girlfriend, Christy, to visit Alison’s brother whom we had not seen  in several years. There, we met Ace, the biggest, friendliest, and funniest dog ever. 

Our next stop was Massanetta Springs Camp and Conference Center in Harrisonburg, VA where I attended the  annual Synod of the Mid-Atlantic Men’s Conference. The theme this year was Romans 12:2, “Do not be  conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what  is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” There, I heard:  

⁕ From several speakers who approached this text from different directions. 

⁕ About Why I Love Jesus (https://WhyILoveJesus.org). This is an organization with 

resources to help ordinary Christians of all ages and cultures become comfortable sharing personal faith stories. 

⁕ About the 2026 mission trip to Kenya to help build and furnish a new chapel.  

⁕ And an awesome praise band. 

I also connected with brothers from across the Synod some of whom I discovered had shared Army  experiences. 

I got a good nap in on Sunday afternoon before the Bible and Church Music Conferences began. My siblings  and their spouses joined us for the week. The highlight of our time together was the scattering of our parents’  ashes on the mountain they loved. Oh, and Bruster’s Real Ice Cream. 

The theme of the Bible Conference was Wilderness Promise. The daily bible study was led by Rev. Dr. Samuel  L. Adams of Union Presbyterian Seminary. Wilderness is a theme I come back to often in my own teaching and  preaching. Dr. Adams presented wilderness themes of transformation, idolatry, murmuring and politics,  economics, and opportunities and change. It was made evident that the biblical wilderness texts have  applicability in the world today.  

Conference worship speakers included Rev. Tony Larson, the current co-moderator of the PC(USA) General  Assembly. He spoke about his experiences as the co-moderator including a trip to Peru where indigenous  people are suffering from the effects of extraction economics. Their land is being taken, polluted, and destroyed  to extract the resources found under it. 

For me, the highlight of the week was hearing Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, a past and the youngest ever moderator  of the PC(USA) General Assembly. He spoke about the generational experiences of his Filipino and Chinese  families. And the dangers of good people falling into the trap of objectivity, intellectualization, and privilege  without considering the impact of our national policies and personal opinions on real people, sometimes our  families, always our neighbors. For more visit Rev. Reyes-Chow’s website (https://www.reyes-chow.com/). 

As always when you send me to these events, there is danger—for you, in that I’ll come back with some new  ideas to spring on you. This year is no exception. Stay tuned. 

Blessings, 

Pastor Tom