Rev. Ryan's Reflections - Summer 2025

Photo by Eriks Abzinovs on Unsplash

From the Associate Pastor...

As I write to you it is on the eve of my vacation to visit family in Minneapolis, MN. It’s been a rough few days for Minnesotans and especially those who live in the Twin Cities metro area. Two members of Minnesota’s State Legislature have been targeted by a gunman. One was killed along with her husband, and one is still undergoing medical treatment alongside his wife.

At times, it feels like the world is crashing down around us or like things are spiraling out of control. It’s this kind of news that we engage with when the TV news coverage comes on and it’s often what we see on our social media apps.

In this summer newsletter, I want to focus on my hope that what we see and hear as “wall-to-wall coverage” on our TVs and social media is not the full truth. I also call upon you to have hope.

Our hope is found in Christ Jesus. The one we acknowledge as savior of the world.

I don’t mean for you to say, “Jesus take the wheel” and ignore what is going on in the world. That’s not how we are called to engage. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit for a reason and that reason is to be our Advocate (John 14:26). The word in Greek that is translated in John as advocate can also mean helper. So, the Spirit helps us to know who Jesus is for the world and helps us to know what to DO with that information.

We are asked to be “doers” in this world. In the creation story in Genesis, God gives humanity “dominion” over the world. So, God elected us to be “doers.” We have a God-given responsibility to join our active, present, caring and loving God in service to the world. The Holy Spirit, the Advocate/Helper, empowers us to be active in the world in the name and likeness of Jesus Christ.  

In Jesus’s own ministry he served the poor, he reached out to the outcast, and he healed the sick. Jesus’s work gives a glimpse of what God’s Resurrection Kingdom looks like. A Kingdom of life, plenty, happiness, and inclusion. This is what forms the bedrock of my hope.

It gives me hope because there are countless people in the world, in our nation and in our community that are being Christ-like “doers.” The Grace Meals Ministry team may not be going viral on social media, the Hands of Grace staff may not get coverage on the nightly news, the Canton Food Bank may not receive front page press in the Hartford Courant, our school supplies collection may not get the attention of the mass media, but they – we - are all still working, feeding, clothing, reaching out and serving God’s beloved children in care and compassion.

God’s Kingdom is well and truly on the way. There are birthing pangs where things happen, like the horrors of what took place in Minnesota this week, that do not reflect God’s Kingdom. These pangs really hurt.

I still have hope.

God’s Kingdom is well and truly on the way and the resurrection of Jesus Christ shows me that nothing is impossible for God! With the Holy Spirit, the Advocate/Helper, we are empowered by God to join with God in the Kingdom-on-the-way. We can see God’s Kingdom arriving all around us in our community. It gives me hope.

This summer, I pray that you will stay connected to the news and understand what is going on, but don’t let the news make you feel like you’ve got the whole story. Take a walk around your neighborhood, notice a little free library in a yard, notice the signs for clothing collections, notice the places that are serving God’s beloved people in care and compassion. These manifestations of God’s Kingdom are a balm to our aching hearts.

Have hope in God’s good work through Christ Jesus this summer. See the Kingdom as it comes. Go and join those hopeful crowds as they serve and stay active in the world in care and compassion for all of God’s children.

In great hope,

Rev Ryan