CALVARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

 

As I write this newsletter article, it will be my final one here at Calvary/ Plumer Charge. As many of you may have heard, Calvary is in need of going to a ¾ time pastor for financial purposes and Plumer has been included in the new Trinity/ Bethel/ Plumer Charge. That leaves us at a crossroads where we find God’s Word coming through from Ecc. today. There is a season for every purpose under heaven. A time to say goodbye to familiar things and move on to the unknown. However, I find myself having a hard time writing a goodbye because these churches are continuing on and you are going to do wonderful things for God’s Kingdom but I must leave you. I am so blessed to have been a part of the Oil City: Calvary/Plumer Charge for three years and have been a part of your story within the larger story. Many friendships have taken place, many great worship experiences, and many wonderful events have been shared. What a blessing! And yes, we had some struggles, we are small and getting smaller. Covid 19 struck and we all had to learn new things like Zoom and online worship! We even tried some things that failed but our spirit is still there and we are still finding new ways to grow the Kingdom of God. I recently asked in a sermon I preached, how are you different because the Holy Spirit is within you? I can tell you that I see the Holy Spirit at work within these churches and within the community. You have and are still making a difference in the lives of the people around you. My prayer is that as this transition occurs, each church may find strength from within themselves to grow closer to God each day and in turn, share even more of the Holy Spirit with others. I know it will be a different road for both churches as one will share a charge with 2 other churches and the other will be by themselves. All roads lead to God’s glory though, so wherever you are, I know that you will be well cared for and served by your pastor. As for me, you may wonder where I am headed. Wade and I are being appointed to the Fairview/Weis Library/Girard/Lake City Charge on the western side of Erie. We will be serving as co-pastors of the four churches and using our gifts together in ministry with these churches. So we get to pack up our belongings and take Shirley, our dog, all our cold weather gear and head north sometime in June. (Please see the note about transition following my article for more on this.) Calvary still has not had a pastor appointed to serve the church yet. This will come in due time. Just continue to pray for your new pastor and an announcement will come once they have found a pastor with the gifts and skills needed to serve Calvary. My final thoughts to you are this: Know that you are blessed, know that you are God’s, and with God all things are possible! Welcome Pastor Tom and Calvary’s new pastor into your churches with loving grace -filled arms and hearts and continue the wonderful work which you are currently doing to grow the Kingdom of God here in the Oil City area! Until the whole world hears,

Pastor Ali