“The God who meets our needs does not decide to stop one day. Like Zechariah, we can practice attending to the rituals of our faith and trusting God to meet us as we do the things disciples are called to do: serving, praising, praying, and more.” Enuma Okoro

January marks the beginning of our calendar year. People buy into their new goals. They write lists, purchase planners, make vision boards, and vow to change. We live in a society that encourages us to change by shaming us for not living up to their standards (that are unachievable). We attempt to not ascribe to this kind of thinking, but every year does bring about its own anticipation. We want to improve. We want to make a difference. We want to spend this year making more of life after years that felt like less. But if all we do is focus on the non-normal times of the past years and ignore the problems that still linger (like a pandemic, racial injustice, and national unrest) we miss the

opportunity to be ministers. I invite you to do the self-work of sitting with the realities that we have all faced. Feel what you need to feel. Grieve where you need to. Rejoice where you can. Embrace where you are. Set up an appointment with a mental healthcare provider. Confide in your church family. All the while, consider adding discipleship to your 2022 goals. This Christmas we were reminded of Zechariah’s silence as he waited for the birth of his son, John the Baptist. He did not stop being a priest or living into his faith. Our call for 2022, as people that follow Jesus, is to serve, praise, pray, and more. Zechariah had all that time to contemplate what the Lord promised and was doing. Maybe that’s what we can do in January. This year, I hope we can do more serving together, more praising together, more praying together, and more discipleship together. Fill out your planner, make your lists, lean into the new year, and embrace your calling because God is with you. It is 2022 after all.

Master List Maker,

Pastor Joy