Pastoral Letter: Making Room for Mercy Among Us

Dear SUM Family, 

Grace and peace to you in Christ.

I give thanks for the ways the Kin-dom of God is already alive among us at SUM. We see it in ministries that strengthen our life together. We see it in the gifts people offer with love and humility, and in the way this church reaches beyond its walls with Christ’s mercy. By the Spirit’s guidance, these ministries continue to grow, and I remain deeply grateful for the prayers, service, and quiet faithfulness that sustain them.

At the same time, pastoral ministry keeps teaching me something I do not want to miss: sometimes the needs nearest to us are the easiest to overlook.

In recent weeks, through prayer requests, conversations, and the ordinary sharing of life together, I have come to see more clearly that some among us are carrying heavy burdens. Not every need is visible. Not every struggle is spoken aloud. But they are real, and they are close.

And so we remember again what the church is meant to be. The church is not only where we gather to worship God. The church is also the people through whom the mercy of God touches lives. When prayer becomes compassion, when worship opens into generosity, when grace received is shared with another, the church becomes more truly itself.

In the Old Testament, the tithe was never only a matter of religious duty. It was an offering of gratitude to God, but never for God alone. In Deuteronomy, what was brought before God was also meant to help sustain those who might otherwise be left behind. Offering and care belonged together. Worship of God and concern for neighbor were not meant to be separated.

We hear the same truth in the ministry of Jesus. When the crowds were hungry, Jesus said to the disciples, “You give them something to eat” (Luke 9:13, NRSV). He was not first asking whether they had enough. He was inviting them into the compassion of God. What they placed in his hands, small as it seemed, became part of the grace by which others were fed.

It is in that spirit that I write to you now.

Our Pastoral Discretionary Fund is one of the quiet ways this church responds when urgent needs arise, both within our congregation and beyond it. It helps us care for people in ways that honor their dignity. It allows us to respond quietly, kindly, and without delay when such care is needed. At this moment, however, the fund needs to be replenished. Requests for assistance have increased, and we are now at a point where this shared ministry of care needs renewed support.

I invite you, as you are able, to make a special gift to the Pastoral Discretionary Fund.

This is not meant to pressure anyone. It is simply an invitation to help Christ’s mercy reach someone who needs it now. It is one way to remind another person that they are not alone. It is one way to help carry a burden that has grown too heavy to bear in silence. And in such giving, the church does more than express kindness. We become a people through whom Christ’s mercy takes flesh again in the world.

As the apostle Paul writes, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7, NRSV). God sees more than the gift. God sees the heart that gives it. And when many hearts respond with quiet faithfulness, the whole body is strengthened.

Beloved, our long-term ministries matter. Our mission beyond the church walls matters. But the gospel does not send us only far away. It also teaches us to notice the sorrow close at hand. God’s love always moves in both directions: outward into the world, and inward toward those nearby who need to be gently held.

My prayer is simple. May what we give together become, for someone, a sign that God has not forgotten them. May this shared generosity give another person room to breathe again. And may SUM continue to grow as a people whose worship and mercy belong together.

Thank you for your prayers, your love, and your steadfast participation in the life of this church.

May the peace of Christ guard your hearts and rest upon your homes.

With gratitude and love,

Pastor DH