We welcome Rev. Ben Moore as our Interim Pastor

Hi, my name is Rev. Ben Moore. You can call me Pastor Ben, Ben, or even Rev. Moore if you prefer more formality. Over the next few weeks I am looking forward to meeting most, if not all, of you, in person. As we start our time together as Interim Minister and Congregation there is a lot that is unknown. Some of it we will learn quickly, like I’m a fan of Mr. Rogers, Virginia Tech (although I don’t watch football, weird, I know) and a good dad joke. I look forward to learning more about each of you quickly as well.

Some of what is unknown won’t be revealed as quickly, and some of it may remain a mystery longer than we would prefer. I know that Rev. Bill Spangler-Dunning talked about liminal times and spaces during his sermon a couple of weeks ago, and we will be experiencing that liminality in a deep way. The particulars of our unknowns together are also situated within the unknowns of a world and society that are in the midst of what seems to be a great transition.

With all of these unknowns and uncertainties comes a very reasonable anxiety for each of us. These anxieties can lead us to seek out the quickest resolution and easiest answers that we can find, even if they aren’t the best or right ones. The good news is that our faith is the perfect antidote to these anxieties, not because it gives us all of the answers, but because it reminds us that even in the midst of it all God is with us, God loves us, and God isn’t done working in our lives or in the world.

For the first few Sundays I’ll be focusing on taking The View from Thirty Thousand Feet, a sermon series that reminds us of Jesus’ most in depth teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, as well as Jesus’ transfiguration revealing to us exactly who Jesus is. By going up the mountain for this view we can be reminded of the big picture truths of our faith and know that the God who walked the shores of Galilee still walks beside us along the New River and through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

There are a lot of answers that we don’t have, but we walk alongside a God who knows and makes the way.

Looking forward to walking together with you!

Pastor Ben