Shalom Anglican

 My heart is full! Sometimes there are seasons in life that bring a lot of rejoicing and this last month has been one of those. First, on Pentecost Sunday we had a baptism with two elementary aged girls as well as a baby of a family who is newer to our church and in our catechism class. It was a beautiful service with lots of guests and lots of joy!  Second, our youngest son Asher got married on May 30th to Angel and I had the privilege of marrying them. It was an incredible day filled with so much joy in having all our family in town including my mom! Beth and I are now officially empty nester's which has it's own set of emotions with it that I'm sure I'll be working through over the next year... lol!  Overall it's been a rich month of life and ministry. Beth and I are so grateful! Updates: Our catechism class is almost finished. Pray for everyone as they consider their next steps in commitment to Jesus and to Shalom Anglican. We've had a few new visitors latel...

"Abide," That was the word the Lord gave me as I laid in a hospital bed three years ago after a bad cycling accident that left me with a broken vertebrae preparing for surgery. It comes from John 15 specifically verse 5 which says,  An artist in our church recently  designed this print and made copies for everyone at Shalom!   I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. This accident also happened right around the time I was scheduled to preach my last sermon as the Lead Pastor of Seaside Church and so I chose to preach on John 15. Well, a few weeks ago this reading came around again in our three year lectionary cycle. I found myself feeling the weight again of the accident and all the losses I've experienced since then. It was a heavy week. At the same time the Lord reminded me that this is still true! Apart from Jesus I can do nothing and his invitation is to continue to ab...

 He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!  I got to baptize my grandson John! Happy Eastertide to you as we enter into this high season of celebrating the resurrection of our Lord. Because Jesus rose from the dead everything will ultimately be okay! He rose to never die again and the tomb remains empty. Hallelujah! We had an incredible Holy Week and Easter Sunday this year. The highlight was celebrating a baptism together for two babies, a teenager, and a young adult at our Saturday evening Easter Vigil! We had over 80 folks at our Vigil and over 70 on Easter Sunday join us in worship. It was truly a glorious weekend! Updates: Happy Birthday Shalom! On Tuesday April 14 Shalom turned two years old! We gathered for an evening to celebrate, share what it's meant to us to be a part of this church, as well as share some vision for the future. It was a wonderful evening! We had several folks attend all of our Holy Week Services (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil) for the first ...

Simple Pastoral Ministry Our Family! Something that I'm reminded of on an almost weekly basis is how much people appreciate simple pastoral ministry! In our day, people can get online and find polished platforms, excellent teaching, and never ending Bible resources for free. But what they can't get is a pastor who will sit with them and listen to what's going on in their life. What they can't get is a pastor who will remember their name, pray for their needs, and offer spiritual direction for their souls.  I recently received a message from someone who had been to our church a few times but then ended up attending another church on and off.  "I just wanted to tell you what a joy it was to be back in Shalom's service again today. This morning you welcomed me with a hug and remembered my name. That meant so much to me. I've decided I want to make Shalom my home church and want to learn more about how I might get involved." Another person I met with recen...

 Friends of Shalom, Freshly Painted Sanctuary As I was re-reading my journal over the last month, I came across this sentence, "Things are going well, but there's a lot to do!"  I think that describes this season we are in. As we're moving from what's felt like an experiment that may or may not work to a church community getting planted I'm seeing the needs for more organization and development.  Included in the work is also good old fashioned pastoral ministry. There are many opportunities for me to meet with folks one on one as they are growing in their faith or navigating difficult circumstances. I've had several of these kinds of meetings lately. Updates: Everyone has been enjoying our newly painted sanctuary. We were able to partner with the school that owns the church on this project to get this done!  This Friday I'm meeting with 3 other couples and we are preparing to launch "Table Groups" in March. These are basically monthly dinner...

 Momentum... Meet our new grandson John Michael Clark! Momentum is a funny thing in church planting. It's when things feel good. There are new faces and new things happening. There seems to be an excitement around the community. I think over the last month we've experienced some momentum. It's interesting that this has happened now because for most of the last month we had to meet in the basement of the church while the sanctuary was being repainted. This created some inconvenience and "funkiness" to our Sunday and Christmas services. But at the same time... it also created some momentum.  In all this I'm reminded of something St. Paul said, " So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth," (1 Corinthians 3:7). Whatever has been happening, I'm thankful for what God is doing and how he is causing our little church plant to grow. Updates: A huge praise was that our daughter Elena Clark gave birth to John ...

Friends of Shalom,  As we come to the end of 2025, I am truly amazed and so grateful for all that our Lord has done and continues to do in our church. The best way to describe this year for me would be “holistic growth.” We’ve seen this in terms of new folks checking out Shalom (many new to faith), we’ve grown deeper in Christ as a church, and we’ve grown as a community in our relationships with one another.  Merry Christmas! Here are some highlights from 2025. Three adult baptisms. We regularly have people new to Christianity or who haven't been to church in years join us on Sunday. Two catechism classes with a total of twelve adults. Inside giving growth by almost $2,000 a month. Our average Sunday Attendance has grown from 30 to 45.  We collectively gave $1,500 for our lenten offering to Scarlet Road (a local non-profit that works with survivors of sexual exploitation). And we volunteered to help with several projects as well. Two weddings and Two engagements! W...