Our Lenten journey came to a close this past weekend as we celebrated the promise of new and everlasting life on Easter. It was a great joy to see so many of you in attendance at the various Holy Week and Easter liturgies. I hope that these intimate worship experiences provided a sense of hope and deepened faith for all of you who were able to be present and attend. And remember, Easter is not a fleeting moment in time. The season of Easter is a fifty-day period, so there is still time to connect with the joy and promises that this miracle has in store for each of you.

       

   As many of you already know, I will now be on leave for a period of time from the church. Having served as Pastor of this wonderful congregation for six years, my "Letter of Call" that you presented to me as a congregation grants me a "3-month sabbatical following six years of service." Therefore, I will be away from church until Sunday, July 8.

    

    In my absence, Rev. Terry Newberry, who is our Pastor Emeritus, will be servi ng as Pastor of First Congregational Church during these three months. Stephan ie Riley, a soprano in the Chancel Choir and music teacher at Dennis Yarmouth High School, will fill in as Director of Music for six weeks. And Marilyn Sink is stepping  in to play the piano and organ during this time as well. On Sunday, May 20, Julian Petrallia will return to Chatham to lead our sacred music during the remainder of my sabbatical and will also be with us through the end of summer.

    I am unable to fully express my gratitude to this church family for allowing me this opportunity to take this sabbatical time. During these months of a much quieter schedule, I am looking forward to beginning some projects and opportunities that I have not had time to pursue in the past. And so I am very grateful to the many individuals who will be stepping in to fulfill my church obligations during this period.

    Enjoy the coming warmer weather and I look forward to seeing you all when I return!

 

Faithfully,

Joe