Weekly Greeting - January 17, 2025

Greetings friends,

This past Sunday (January 12) in worship during Joys and Concerns time I announced that I will be retiring at annual conference.  My last Sunday at Bethlehem will be June 8.

I used to wonder at how pastors could look forward to retirement.  I also used to tell myself that if I were ever to lose energy and were not able to give myself 100% to the ministry that I would retire.

While I continue to feel passionate and excited about my ministry, I have felt a reduction in my energy level for leading the church.  Therefore to be true to myself and out of a concern that the church have the best leadership possible, I will be transitioning to retired status.

I can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am to have been able to serve the United Methodist Church as a pastor.  I love the church and look forward to continuing to serve after retirement and look forward to helping during this time of pastoral transition at Bethlehem.  I know that God has great things in store for the Bethlehem family.

Please pray for Stephanie and me as we find a new church closer to our home in Nashville.  It is a great honor for both of us to be a part of the United Methodist Church connection.  We look forward to serving you these next few months.

Blessings,

Craig __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This Sunday we continue our new worship series, “The Gifts of Faith.” This week our focus will be on the gift of community.  Our text will be 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.  God has given us all gifts so that we might serve God and be built into a community that glorifies God.  We are blessed to be a blessing!

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