Interim Pastor John Sublett

Dear Friends - How good it is to be among you.

I have been welcomed and introduced to the vital and vibrant life of First Church. I thank you and look forward to my time with you. Your awareness of God’s call to be the hands of Jesus in the world is evident and encouraging in a day when so many congregations are turned inward for survival. I have a sense that sharing these months with you will enrich my spirit. Thank you. My time among you is an interim time. That is, I will be your pastor until the bishop appoints a full time pastor. This may wait until, in our Methodist way, the appointments for all the pastors are set at the annual conference. I am very grateful to Larry George who is joining me in this work and making it possible for both of us to come out of retirement for this time to provide the full range of pastoral ministry here. 

I also want to acknowledge Terry Haug and thank her. Dianne Smith is recovering from hip replacement surgery and will be out of the office for a few months. Without Terry filling in for Dianne it would be far more difficult to step into this role. She is a treasure.   

We enter this work on the edge of Advent. Already the plans are laid for a full season. Please take note in this issue of The Visitor the many special Advent opportunities for worship, fellowship, and giving.  

Help me know who you are. Let me hear your concerns. Let’s together make these months ahead of us full of faith and action. May the pastor to come find us already being the church, the hands and heart of Jesus for the world.  

Blessings for the season before us,

John Sublett