Pastoral Letter: Tied by Grace: The Faith That Holds Us Together
It has been a week of soft autumn rain here in Simsbury. As the air turns colder and the colors deepen, I see our bodies and hearts trying to keep pace with the beauty of change. I sometimes wonder if there is an English phrase for what Koreans call “feeling autumn.” From the parsonage window, I watch the trees shift shade by shade, and the simple act of sharing a meal at our family table has become a sacred rhythm of rest and peace.
As the season changes outside, I’ve also sensed new rhythms of growth within our church family. Last Wednesday, I led our Youth Group again. Time with our young people always brings me joy. Their laughter, endless stories, and open hearts remind me that God is still shaping the future of the church through them. As I prayed about what to share this week, a simple idea came to mind: the Korean traditional game “ttakji-chigi” and the words of Ecclesiastes 4:9–12.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other...A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
We began our evening with pizza and conversation—sharing joys, struggles, and hopes for the days ahead. Then I asked, “What are the most important things in your life?” The room filled with answers: family, friends, faith, God, Jesus, music, church, love, food... Simple words, but full of meaning.
I held up one thin sheet of paper and asked, “Do you think this can hold everything that matters to you? It’s so thin and fragile, isn’t it?” Then I invited them to fold it in half, layer it with another, and make a ttakji—a small folded square used in the game. One sheet alone was weak, but two folded together became stronger. Still, it wasn’t quite enough. We added another layer, and this time the paper had weight. Now the laughter grew louder—the game began to take life.
After a while, I said, “Some people ask, Why do we need church? Can’t we just believe in God, follow Jesus, read Scripture, and pray on our own?”
“That’s a fair question,” I told them. “But we are fragile on our own—like a single sheet of paper. It is God who folds our lives together and strengthens us with grace. When two or three are gathered, God is the One who joins us, making us strong.”
That night’s game became more than a game. It became a lesson in faith and community. Church is the place where our thin, ordinary lives are folded into one another—where we pray, encourage, forgive, and share joy together.
Many people worry about the future of the church. They ask, “Why is it shrinking? Does it still matter?” But each time I sit with our youth, I see the answer in front of me. When they share prayer requests, pray for one another, and laugh without fear, I see the living hope of the church—
and the God who still binds us together in grace.
I also see hope in the adults who guide and pray for them, those who help our young disciples walk faithfully with sound minds and open hearts. Through them, I glimpse the future that God is preparing for our community.
Do you feel it, too? When children, youth, young adults, and elders gather to worship and learn together at SUM, we see the beautiful truth that God is weaving our generations into one threefold cord of grace. Let us keep praying for one another, and may our next generation continue to grow deeper in their relationship with God through our love, prayers, and presence.
If you feel called to share your gifts with our children or youth ministries, please let me know. Your prayer, your presence, and your participation are strands in the threefold cord that God is weaving among us. And because God is in it, that cord will not break.
As we reflect on what it means to be bound together in faith, this Sunday offers a special reminder. We will celebrate Laity Sunday—a day when The United Methodist Church honors the ministry and witness of laypersons everywhere. It is a day to rejoice in the grace that moves through the daily lives of all who serve and lead with love. You are warmly invited to join us in this service of grace.
In Christ,
Pastor DH