A word from Senior Pastor, Rev. Brock Bomkamp

Good day, Church Family!!

As most know, Pastor Brock, Claire, and Jessa welcomed home their new little blessings - Briella Gene Bomkamp! What a beauty she is!! Praying huge blessings on Briella and her family!

As I sit here contemplating what to share, I am reminded of Father Lawrence's heartfelt speech he delivered in the Conclave movie. While a fictional story, the speech touched my heart. I hope my recollection of the speech speaks to your heart in the same way it did mine.

Father Lawrence says, "St Paul said, 'Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.' To work together, to grow together, we must be tolerant. No one person or faction seeking to dominate another. And speaking to the Ephesians, who were, of course, a mixture of Jews and Gentiles, Paul reminds us that God's gift to the church is its variety. It is this variety, this diversity of people and views, which gives our church its strength. And over the course of many years in the service of our Mother the Church, let me tell you, there is one sin, which I have come to fear above all others. Certainty. Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance. Even Christ was not certain at the end. My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? He cried out in His agony at the ninth hour on the cross. Our faith is a living thing, precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there were only certainty - and no doubt - there would be no mystery - and therefore no need for faith.

Variety - variety of sermons, variety of opinions, variety of gifts we offer to our Lord, variety - not in our beliefs but in how we carry out our beliefs, variety in everyone's quirks, gifts, talents - you get what I am saying. It's this variety that makes our Church strong, convicted, accepting of others, and accepting of change, to just name a few. It's the variety and diversity that keeps us walking in the steps of Jesus - He ate with thieves and prostitutes. He loved on the outcast, the downtrodden, the different. Jesus modeled for us the perfect love. He showed us that no one is perfect, yet worthy of perfect love. I pray that we, in our unity together and variety of ourselves, show that perfect love to our brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that we don't allow "certainty" to drive us - rather, we allow uncertainty and variety to show us the way God has for us!

I pray a blessed week for each of you!!

Much love and hugs
Laura Wilson