January 2024
New Beginnings
The time has arrived for me to transition into the next phase of my life and for The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek to transition into the next phase of its life. Usually at times like these people tend to focus on the things that they will no longer have and be sad. I guess I am a “the glass is half full” kind of a person. I would much rather rejoice in the growth that I have experienced and savor the friends that I have made.
I believe that my first involvement with this congregation was to be one of the wise men in the Living Nativity the December before I started preaching. What a wonderful opportunity to be introduced to many of the congregation and get to know them a little better. At the same time the church was spreading the good news of our Savior’s birth and helping the community celebrate the season!
During our time together we have worked through challenges that stem from each of us bringing our own perspective to living and worshipping together. I believe that by working through these challenges I have matured and I know that I have benefitted greatly from your patience, mercy, and grace. My hope is that you feel the same.
One thing that I know from experience. God bringing one chapter of my life to a close does not mean that He is done with me. I know that He has something else, He needs me to do, and He has used my time at The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek to get me ready for it.
I believe the same is true for The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek. As a congregation, we are not in the same place as when I first arrived. God has used you and me to sharpen each other and to cause us both to grow in knowledge and belief in our savior, Jesus Christ. While God was doing that, He found a way to introduce Carolyn Leah and her gifts to Plum Creek. That was not an accident! God spent time preparing Carolyn to come here as the Director of Christian Formation and now as your next pastor.
We need not be sad about what we will be losing. Rather, we need to be excited about what God has in store for the next chapters of our lives. New beginnings can be very exciting. Let us take time to savor what God has done and then look forward to the future with hope, faith, and a sense of excitement for what is coming next!
Until we meet again. To God be the Glory!
Pastor Frank Hancock
