I\u2019m honored to be writing this week\u2019s reflection for the MMU. This is my first official week as your new temporary stated clerk and I\u2019m excited for all that is to come. I\u2019m grateful for all the opportunities to get to know each of you in the Presbytery of San Gabriel over the coming months. As a cradle Presbyterian, I love this denomination and the work that is done through our churches and presbyteries. I am a PCUSA pastor\u2019s daughter and a PCUSA pastor\u2019s sister while also being a chaplain, endorsed by the Presbyterian Church, myself. In fact, my brother also works in a church in North Carolina. We\u2019re committed to this work, one might say.<\/p>\n
That commitment to the work of the Church, to the work God has called me into since infancy, gives me a strong and sure foundation; a foundation that led me into my work as a hospital chaplain. Being a chaplain has been an incredible blessing on my life and I imagine that your work within the Presbytery, devoting your lives to ministry, has been a blessing to each of you as well. Chaplaincy, as a career, has also been difficult and demanding in many ways, as I imagine your work is at times. In this Epiphany season, it\u2019s easy for me to remember that God\u2019s grace covers all aspects of our ministerial responsibilities and obligations. God\u2019s grace covers our entire lives, in fact. Through each difficult moment, each joyous one, and all the mundane steps in between, God\u2019s care of us remains our surest foundation.<\/p>\n
Acting as your stated clerk, my trust in God\u2019s call and grace for each of us as we commit our lives to ministry and Church work, will guide me. If we are in communication in the days to come, please know that my assumption starts with the belief that the work you do is holy and sacred. I am committed to walking alongside you as I keep and organize the administrative and polity work of our presbytery and the denomination.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve spent time this week getting an introduction to some of the upcoming events and offerings available to all of us through the Presbytery. With the upcoming Winterfest, the Lenten series of Becoming the Beloved Community, and the holy work of anti-racism and racial justice that this series will offer, I see how the Holy Spirit is moving within this Presbytery to bring hope, restoration, and engagement in such important ways. I listened to Dr. Shenell\u2019s introduction to the Becoming the Beloved Community series. If you haven\u2019t yet, I encourage you to. In her introduction, Dr. Shenell said, \u201cLent is an invitation to come together and reflect on our brokenness collectively\u201d and gosh, that is the truest thing I\u2019ve read today. In our ministerial roles, we\u2019re not perfect by any means. Our Presbytery and the entire PCUSA denomination are run by a beloved and broken people. In trusting God\u2019s grace for each of us, at all moments of our lives, we find incredible freedom to face the darkest and most broken parts of our world, our ministries, and ourselves and bring abundant light to that darkness. This work is holy, sacred, and a blessing with its many facets and layers, the good and the broken.<\/p>\n
As we walk together in community and shared obligation to Christ\u2019s call, I pray we have eyes to see the light breaking through from God\u2019s grace for each of us. John Calvin once said that \u201cWe should ask God to increase our hope when it is small, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak, and raise it up when it is overthrown.\u201d Our hope in being a living, breathing, awakened Church of Christ that is always seeking truth, connection, and the movement of the Holy Spirit is a beautiful thing. I see that here in San Gabriel and that is why I\u2019m honored to support that holy work as your Stated Clerk. You are now, and forevermore, in my prayers. I look forward to meeting you along the way.<\/p>\n
Blessings in the good work we share.<\/p>\n
Carrie Kohler<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_nav in_same_term=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” hide_prev=”off” hide_next=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_post_nav][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for usyes, establish the work of our hands. \u2013 Psalm 90:17 I\u2019m honored to be writing this week\u2019s reflection for the MMU. This is my first official week as your new temporary stated clerk and I\u2019m excited for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1460,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1920","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28063"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1460"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28063"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28068,"href":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28063\/revisions\/28068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}