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The end is near! Or, ...the beginning is near! (?) Which is it? Maybe both! 
 
Have you noticed that the Bible "ends" with a beginning? A new beginning! The culmination of all things in Revelation (21 & 22 especially) is not pointing out how things end, but how things will begin again. All by God's good grace. 
 
This past week marks 2 years since our family moved (back) to the Comox Valley. We still pinch ourselves about the fact that we actually get to live here and serve this church family. We are so grateful to be here. 
 
The first "Dearly Beloved" that I wrote to our congregation was in October 2020 and was about 4 priorities for Laura and me in our first 2 years here. I have been reflecting again on these four things in recent weeks and want to share them again with you.

  1. Getting to know our Congregation and Community
  • We have been loving getting re-acquainted with the many faithful ones who have been at CPC for decades as well as getting acquainted with those who are newer here. Did you know that our Summer survey revealed that 45% of our congregation are new to CPC in the last 2 years?  
  1. COVID Response 
  • I am so grateful for the wise guidance of our "Re-Opening Team" that helped our church family navigate through the most challenging parts of the pandemic. Who knows, there may still be some surprises and difficulties ahead, but we know God will continually be faithful. 
  1. The Stability and Health of our Church
  • When we arrived, our church had been through two transitions in 3 years, and add to that an unpredictable pandemic. Experiences like this can be unsettling for many. Our church-wide experience of "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality" last Fall and God's ever-caring and ever-present ways are helping us to move forward together. 
  1. Discover & Articulate Fresh Vision 
  • These past two years have been full of all kinds of special meetings, town halls, focus groups, and most importantly, prayer meetings where Laura and I have been privileged to listen and learn from our congregation. God is speaking and leading! After synthesizing our findings with our leadership circle of staff and council (board), a sense of clarity and call for CPC is resonating. 

Sunday, October 2 is "Vision Sunday" and I hope you won't miss it. 
 
While we are nearing the very 'end' of our vision journey, it's actually not an end. It is a new beginning! 
 
All by God's good grace. 
Pastor Mike Bidell