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A Birthday, a Baptism,
and a Question for All of Us
This Sunday is Baptism of the Lord Sunday—which means water, grace, and the reminder that God names us beloved before we ever get our act together. It also means we’re baptizing Eleanor Ruth Whiddon, who has already figured out the most important part of the Christian life: showing up and being held.
This year is also a big one for our church. In 2026, Perry Methodist Church turns 200 years old. That’s two centuries of worship, prayer, potluck dinners, sermons long and short, faithful saints, imperfect people, and a whole lot of God’s grace. When this church was founded, people came to worship by horseback or on foot. Today, some of us barely make it on time even with heated seats and GPS.
Anniversaries like this raise a question—not just where have we been? but where is God leading us now?
Jesus’ baptism didn’t mark the end of anything. It marked the beginning. Before he preached a sermon or healed a soul, God named him beloved—and then sent him forward. In much the same way, our 200th anniversary isn’t about nostalgia or preservation. It’s about faithfulness. It’s about listening. It’s about asking, together, what obedience looks like in this moment of our shared life.
In the weeks ahead, we’ll be inviting the church into a season of prayer and fasting—not because we’re in trouble, not because we’re anxious, but because we want to listen well. We believe God still speaks. And we want to be a people who can hear.
So this Sunday, as we remember our baptisms and celebrate new life, consider this an invitation—not to have all the answers, but to be open. God has been faithful for 200 years. We trust God will be faithful still.
Grace and Peace,
Tom
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