Dear Friends,

The summer of 2008, my husband Dave and I took a 355-mile bike trip on the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. Each day we rode somewhere between 50 and 65 miles. One of the lasting lessons of that ride was this; no matter how many miles we rode, the last ten were the hardest.

This lesson came back to me as I thought about the beginning of the new year and the ending of the pandemic. The end is in sight! There is light at the end of the tunnel! And yet, there are miles yet to go. Restrictions continue, and sadly, infections and deaths as well. We are in “the last ten miles” and must  peddle on.

While the early months of 2021 may look a lot like 2020, there is hope.  Every day we hear of recoveries and of people receiving the vaccine. Financial assistance is on its way for individuals and small businesses. Through it all, we are called as Christians to love our neighbor as ourselves, to go the extra mile, to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8)

With 2020 behind us and 2021 before us, let us peddle on with hope and courage; “let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and the perfector of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1).

In the Peace, Power and Presence of Christ…Pastor Sarah