By Pastor Sean

Greetings, Slatersville Congregational Church! – a phrase that I never expected to be saying quite as much as I do! The last month of my life has been a bit of a blur: engaging with congregants and church committees, attending meetings in the community with current and former partners, and getting to know what makes our church ‘work’ has been an enriching (and somewhat disorienting!) experience.

Every day I’ve had the pleasure of working from my office in the church, I’m reminded of what drew me to this church: the warmth and humor of its congregation, the quality of its culture and character. Each day has affirmed the day prior, and my entire journey to be your pastor: I feel right at home here at Slatersville, and I am so thankful for the kind welcome you’ve bid me already.

Thank you, thank you for your confidence in me as your pastor. I look forward to growing with you, learning from you, and following in Christ’s footsteps alongside you. The path is long and confusing, but I’m thrilled to be able to walk it with this congregation. For those of you lucky enough to have avoided spending time with me, I want to make sure that you know I’m available – for phone calls, home visits, Zoom visits, and so on. If you’d like to make an appointment with me for pastoral care or just a chance to sit down and meet, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email ([email protected]) or telephone (401-919-2406 – call or text) and I’ll respond as promptly as I can.

Please know that I also have flexible office hours (usually between 10am and 2pm, Tuesdays through Thursdays) and that you’re more than welcome to come by and say ‘hello’ though I can’t guarantee Rick, Michell, or Bob aren’t already sitting in the chair across from me. :-)

A final note: Last Sunday, I announced that the Bible Study I’ll be leading has actually been split into two sessions. One of the sessions will be a Bible 101 course – something akin to a ‘traditional’ Bible study in which we will read scripture consistently through the year, reflect on it, talk about the text as a group, and discuss theological/scriptural matters as they come up in our holy book. The newly-introduced second session, the Topics Group, will be oriented around independent reading of both scripture and non-scripture as well as reflection/conversation on topics that move and provoke the group’s participants. I have the first session of our Topics Group (about four weeks) ready to go, and the group’s focus will shift to a different topic once that four weeks is up. Sign-ups for both groups are still available, and some people are choosing to take part in both – but don’t feel pressure to take on more than you can carry!

Those of you hoping to sign up for the sessions are more than welcome to send me an email ( [email protected]) to confirm, though many of you have already left sticky notes on my desk; either way works for me! Thanks to all of you once again. I look forward to telling you more exciting news over the next few months, including the start of several other new programs I hope to kickstart before our the start of our Advent season. Autumn has almost arrived, as it is – and for that, I have only prayers of joy and thanks. May God bless you, Slatersville – you and yours, and then some. See you Sunday!