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Returning
Returning is one of those words that carries more meaning than we sometimes realize.
After the celebration, travel, disruption of routines, and turning of the calendar to a new year, many of us are returning. Students are heading back to school after Winter Break. Many of you are returning to work and familiar rhythms. Households are settling back into schedules. Life, once again, finds its pace.
In our family, this season of returning feels especially sacred. Carol, Gavin, Isiah, and I are returning to local church ministry--and specifically to this wonderful congregation! We’re returning to familiar places, favorite restaurants, old friends, and new beginnings. Gavin and Isiah are returning to Orange County Public Schools, while I’m returning to weekly preaching, not as a guest or retreat speaker, but as one of your pastors, sharing life, Scripture, and worship together week after week.
This past Tuesday, January 6, marked my first full day back, as I joined our staff for our retreat. Today, Thursday, January 8, I’ll experience another meaningful return. The Bishop’s Clergy Day Apart (held in Lakeland the last two years) will be hosted at Warren Willis Camp. In my other current role as Senior Director (until March 31), I’ll have the joy of welcoming our Bishop, more than 200 clergy, and Conference staff back to that sacred place for a day of worship, fellowship, and growth. It’s a reminder that returning often carries both gratitude and purpose.
And now...
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