Skip to main content

March Newsletter

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 recently, who is new to Shalom and new to the faith, kept thanking me as it was the first time they had met one on one with a pastor. 

In each of these situations I didn't do anything fancy to get them to come to our church or make our ministry more attractional. It was just simple pastoral ministry that made the difference. As we plant Shalom I'm seeing over and over how being a parish priest in my community is my primary strategy to reach new folks. 

Updates:

  • Beth and I got to have a Sunday off a few weeks back to enjoy a weekend with all our kids, their spouses. fiancé, and grandkids! Our service was led by volunteers from Shalom who did a great job. 
  • Table Groups have officially launched at Shalom! We have 4 groups beginning to meet this month. 
  • We had a rich Ash Wednesday service!
  • We've had a few new visitors stick around and are exploring our church.
Prayer:
  • Pray for our baptismal candidates. We have 1 adult and 4 babies being baptized at our Easter Vigil.
  • Pray for our Catechism class that starts 3/22. We'll have over 10 adults joining us for this round. 
  • Pray for Holy Week services. 
  • Pray for our women gathering for an evening of fellowship as well as a group going to our Diocesan women's retreat. 
  • Pray for several folks going through some very difficult challenges. 
Thanks for your prayers and support!

For the Shalom of Kitsap,

Father Rob 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

December Newsletter - Year End Report and Year End Giving

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

October Newsletter

 Our First Confirmation! On September 28th we celebrated our first confirmation at Shalom Anglican! We had seventeen folks confirmed by our Bishop, Jake Worley, and celebrated afterwards with a potluck. It was a beautiful liturgy and I think we all sensed the presence of the Spirit and left deeply encouraged!  Confirmation is an ancient liturgical rite where those who have been baptized and catechized publicly affirm their faith through confessing before the church their baptismal vows. Then a bishop of the church confirms and commissions each person through the laying on of hands to be strengthened by the Spirit for ministry in and out of the church. As you can imagine it took a little while to confirm seventeen folks in one service but it was sweet to watch as the church prayed for each confirmand during the Bishop's prayers. This is a HUGE step for us as a new church. When I see this picture I think of how Paul speaks of the church like a body in 1 Corinthians 12. Each...
Post a Comment
Read more

November Newsletter

Young Adults The church we rent was recently painted. We're so grateful to be able to partner with All Saints Academy!  One of the exciting things about church planting is that as we open our doors for Sunday Eucharist and scatter gospel seeds in our community we don't always know which ones will grow up. We don't always know who God will allow us to reach. In many ways this reminds me of my wife's garden. Last spring she planted a bunch of different veggies some took and some didn't. It was a surprise to see as we moved through the growing season. One of the surprises in planting Shalom has been the number of young adults we have seen find a home at Shalom. I wasn't expecting that and it has been a true joy! We've already had two weddings with a third one this summer. We've had three babies born and one more coming in a month. We also have several single young adults in their 20's and 30's who are a part of our church. Please continue to pray fo...
Post a Comment
Read more