It seems to me that as every year goes by, time seems to go by more quickly than the previous year. This year has certainly been no exception. On January 1, 2023, I will be celebrating my one-year anniversary here at The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek and for me, the time has gone by in the blink of an eye. This time has been one of great personal and professional growth for me as I served both God and you. God has prepared me for this time, and I give Him thanks for His patience, persistence, and confidence in placing me here. I am equally thankful to all of you for your patience, friendship, and support as I continue to grow into this position. I feel like serving as your pastor is what God wants me to do and my hope is that you feel the same way. I want you to know that I feel welcome and supported by all of you. Over this first year, we have celebrated together, learned together, fellowshipped together, mourned together, and worshipped together. I feel we have grown together this year and am looking forward to continuing to serve God by serving you in 2023.

We have just completed our Thanksgiving holiday. Originally this was a time to give thanks for the harvest, but it has grown to be a time to give thanks to God and each other for all our blessings. Even as family life changes, we make extra effort to gather as family and friends at his time of year. Our hearts turn to generosity as many of us help to provide a Thanksgiving meal for those less fortunate than ourselves. This year the members and friends of Plum Creek Presbyterian Church have gifted over 70 bags of Christmas dinner fixings to the local food bank who will add a turkey to round out the meal for their clients! God is good all the time!

We now find ourselves in the season of Advent. A time of preparing ourselves to receive the holy one of God. We can ready ourselves to receive Jesus again as the infant in Bethlehem and we can also use this season to prepare ourselves for His second coming. As Jesus tells us in His parables, we need to remain vigilant, for we do not know when He will come to us. If we remain vigilant, we will not miss His coming.

As part of our preparations, we light the candles of the advent wreath remembering that Jesus brings Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love to the people who believe in Him. Jesus brings us hope for the future because His promise of providing the living water to those who believe in Him is true. In the comfort of His presence with us, Jesus brings us His peace, the peace that passes all understanding. Jesus brings us Joy as He ushers in the kingdom of heaven on earth as the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them1. Jesus shows us how to love God and one another. This is the fulfillment of what Jesus identified as the greatest commandment. On Christmas eve we light the Christ candle to remember that all of this is brought together in Jesus, God’s greatest gift for us…. because God loves each and every one of us.

To God be the Glory!

Pastor Frank Hancock

Email: pastor@plumcreekpc.com

Office: (412) 793-4525

Cell Phone: (412) 860-3719 – Please feel free to leave a message