Pastoral Letter: Learning to Live Here
Dear SUM Family,
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
It has been nearly a week since I returned to the United States, and my body is still learning the rhythm of this time zone. I was away for only one month, yet I have found that my body, heart, and way of seeing have changed more than I expected. Some journeys continue to shape us even after we have unpacked our bags.
That month in Korea brought new color to memories that had begun to fade. I returned carrying more than a suitcase: memories, questions, and the love my family placed in my hands.
Last Friday, our plane landed in Atlanta, Georgia. As I gathered my luggage and walked toward the immigration officer, I felt both gratitude and the familiar weight of not knowing how the entry process would unfold.
The first question was simple: “Where are you going?”
“Simsbury,” I answered.
“Simsbury, Connecticut?” the officer asked.
“Yes.”
Then came another question: “Why are you going there?”
“Because I live there,” I said.
After a few questions about the food I was carrying, I was on my way. Yet one question remained with me: Why do you go to Simsbury?
Because I live there.
On the way to Bradley and then to Simsbury, I kept returning to those words. What does it mean to live somewhere? It is more than having an address. It is to receive a place and its people as part of our calling, to learn its joys and burdens, and to ask how we may love the neighbors God has placed near us.
The apostle Paul writes, “Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers” (Romans 12:13). In the same breath, Paul joins care for those already among us with hospitality toward those we do not yet know. Perhaps this is one of the clearest ways a church becomes more than a building where people gather: people are noticed, received, and accompanied.
This past Sunday, your welcome helped me feel that truth anew. After worship, many of you welcomed me warmly—with a hug, a handshake, and words of thanks that I had returned safely and in good health. I am deeply grateful for those simple words and gestures. They reminded me that I have returned to a place where I am not living alone.
Because I was not preaching that morning, I sat in the very back row for the 8:00 service, a place where I do not usually have the opportunity to sit. During worship, I noticed a woman visiting our church on her own. Carrying only a bulletin, she seemed to realize that the service had already begun and stepped back outside rather than entering the sanctuary. I went out quietly to greet her and let her know that she was welcome to come in. Concerned about disturbing the service, she chose to sit on the bench in front of the church and came in after worship had ended.
I was grateful to spend time with her afterward and to introduce her to another member of our church family. In that small moment, I was reminded again that welcome is not only a feeling. It is taking a little time, opening a door, making an introduction, and helping someone know that there is room for them.
I am still adjusting my body to this time zone and finding my way back into the work that was waiting. But I am doing so among people who pray, serve, encourage, and carry one another.
I begin my second year in Simsbury with gratitude for God’s grace and for your love and hospitality. I do not want to take that gift for granted. I hope that the welcome I have received will continue to shape the welcome we offer: to the person who enters our church for the first time, to the neighbor whose story we have not yet heard, and to the longtime member who may quietly need encouragement.
Let us pray for families who are still traveling, that their journeys may be safe and peaceful. And when we gather this Sunday, may we notice someone at the edge—whether new to us or long known—and make room for them with the love of Christ. This is one way we keep learning not only to live in Simsbury, but to love and serve here.
Grace and peace,
Pastor DH
Simsbury United Methodist Church