Hello friends, 

My name is Molly Collier and I have the pleasure of serving as a student pastor at U Gathering for the summer. I come to you from Methodist Theological School of Ohio and I am grateful for the warm welcome I received last Sunday during worship! I am looking forward to the rest of my time here getting to know you as we grow and serve together.

Pastor Paul has been preaching from the sermon series Choosing Change and we will continue with that theme this Sunday. For some folks, change can be exciting and adventurous while it can also bring about feelings of fear and anxiety. Pema Chodron, in her book When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, writes the following, “The spiritual journey goes beyond hope and fear, stepping into unknown territory, continually moving forward. The most important aspect of being on a spiritual path may be to just keep moving.” As we move through this spiritual journey of change as a church community and as you may be going through changes in your own personal lives, I encourage you to keep moving. I encourage you to trust in the process of change and lean into the feelings of excitement and even the feelings of doubt and fear that may be coming up for you. Chodron also says, “Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.” We, as a church and a people, are moving closer to the truth of who God called us to be as a relevant, thriving faith community. 

Join us this Sunday, in-person or online, as Pastor Paul and I will be preaching together and talking about what awaits you on the other side of change. 

In Christ, 

Molly Collier