A Letter From Pastor Peter Hiett
Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
Dear Sanctuary,
This has been a challenging year, and from the start, the Sanctuary has been a challenging proposition.
Fourteen years ago, we set out to be a corporate witness to these remarkable truths:
God is One, and so His Judgment is Love.
God is Love and so desires to save.
God is Almighty and so can save.
God is Jesus and so does save.
“For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20)
Being that witness is a challenging proposition for a church in our culture — challenging from at least two directions. Because we believe this is the testimony of Scripture, it is a scandal to those who would like to rewrite Scripture after their own liking. And because we believe this is the testimony of Scripture, it is a scandal to those who would like to twist Scripture into an affirmation of their own righteousness as they look down on those that they deem inferior. The gospel of God’s Relentless Love in Christ Jesus crucifies us all on the way to setting us free.
I believe I am called to preach this Gospel, no matter the cost. But not just me. I strongly suspect that we are called to preach it together, although it will be met with obstacles and opposition. It is a challenging proposition. And this year has been a challenging year.
The Trail Behind
When Kathleen, our part-time Pastor of Community Life, decided to move to California, we set out to hire a new Pastor of Community Life, aware that Frances, our part-time Pastor of Community Care, was hoping to retire and spend part of each year in Massachusetts. During our search, the Pandemic hit, and Frances decided that she needed to stay in Massachusetts out of health concerns. Nonetheless, we moved forward with hiring a full-time Pastor of Congregational Life, Chris Lindenmeyer. The position would have been particularly challenging for anyone during a pandemic when community was often forbidden, but especially challenging for a young man with a new family.
Still, I was very surprised just a few weeks ago to discover that Chris had taken another job and would be leaving us in just a few weeks. Meanwhile, Michael Hannah, our beloved Communications Director was planning to transition out of his part-time position here to pursue his full-time career goals. And Heather Eades, who had been a great help to me with transcriptions and maintaining our Relentless Love website, had also just taken a full-time position and transitioned out as well. It’s been an extremely challenging year and a particularly challenging month.
At the start of the month, the board had discussed hiring Brett Eades (Heather’s husband) in a full-time capacity to replace Michael Hannah and Heather, as a new full-time Director of Communications (Michael’s position was a 25-hour position and Heather’s about 10.) Brett’s background in ministry, his love for the message, and his desire to see it go out to the world is a huge gift to us all. So, when Chris resigned, offering Brett a full-time position was an easy decision for the board to make, but a challenging offer for Brett to accept, since he would be leaving a stable job in the process. I’m so very grateful that he just recently decided to accept.
The Trail Ahead
Yet, this still leaves us with an absence. COVID has changed the nature or our community, and yet this change may very well have been our calling all along — traditional Community Life programs have been a challenge at the Sanctuary. And so, we hope to acquire a part-time associate pastor with a heart for the unique calling on our church and a desire to pastor our community in pursuing that calling together. We have ideas, and we have hopes. Yet, all of these hopes and ideas do not belong to me, and they do not simply belong to the board; they belong to us.
Discerning our calling and responding to that calling is up to us — or I should say, the move of God’s Spirit within us. Would you simply ask the Lord if that involves you and your finances?
This was not the letter I was intending to write a month ago, but I suspect this was the letter that God intended me to write from the beginning. I hope that we can continue to reach out to people around the world through our online presence, and indeed increase that witness with Brett’s help. I also hope that we can minister to those already involved in our community with a renewed focus on living out the implications of God’s Relentless Love together. And I hope we can care for the wonderful employees we already have by providing increases that would at least match our runaway inflation. I hope we can do this from our facility that is getting a long-needed, even if somewhat delayed, upgrade. And I hope that you would consider yourself a part of this mission.
I hope. But Peter Hiett has been mistaken before, so would you ask our Lord what it is that he would like to do in us this coming year? And would you ask Him if he would like you to give?
The Trail Together
No matter what, the Kingdom will come, God will be glorified, and you will see “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea” praising God and the Lamb on the throne. Just ask Him (Would you?), how he would like you to be a part.
Thank you so very much for doing this together with me in the past. And I hope we can not only continue doing this together in the future, but be an ever-increasing testimony to the Grace of God in a world that is constantly tempted to hide in outer darkness.
I love you and Merry Christmas,
Peter
You can give by going to our website and clicking on the donate button. But even better (and to avoid added fees), drop something in the basket or mail a check to the church office at 3101 W 31st Ave, Denver, CO 80211.