Messiah Family and Friends,

 The Messiah council would like to recognize our pastoral staff for their dedication to service here at Messiah.

Pastor Susan, Pastor Chuck,

Thank you for choosing to serve here at Messiah and serving in ways that we may never fully realize. Thank you for choosing to live your life dedicated to and knowing the word of God. Thank you for the late nights and early mornings you have spent studying scripture and researching His word as you craft your messages for us.

Thank you for the hours spent listening to us. Thank you for listening without judgement and being a safe space where we could find the forgiveness we so desperately need. Thank you for the times you had to speak hard truths into our brokenness…even when we didn’t want to hear or receive it.

Thank you for answering those late-night calls that often led to hospital visits, difficult conversations and helping people walk through circumstances you never could have imagined. Thank you for being willing to do hard things and help others be brave as they faced the unimaginable.

Thank you for being tenderhearted and compassionate in the face of grief and joy filled as you shared in our celebrations. Thank you for becoming part of our extended family, even when that required you to sacrifice time with your own family.

Thank you for creating memories for us, this Church is so central to our memory-making, and you make these beautiful memories possible. Thank you for leading the staff members and investing in them so they can shepherd and lead as well.

Thank you for sacrificing time and energy you could have, maybe even should have, poured into your own family. Thank you for juggling your own family responsibilities as you sought to meet the many, and varied needs of our church family.

Thank you for the countless hours you have spent praying for us, for the church. Thank you for the nights you have spent awake, because you bear the weight of so many and so much. Thank you for the stress you carry on our behalf.

Thank you for the responsibility you shoulder to minister the way you do. Thank you for choosing to follow His calling on your life. You say it is all worth it. Thank you truly isn’t enough. But today, we honor you both for all you do each day. We honor you for the years you have poured into ministry. Each of you is a difference maker and a life changer.

Thank you both.

Faithfully,