Growing up my family took amazing vacations. We travelled to all 48 states by the time I was in high school. Because my parents believed in education, we were always stopping in at museums and places like Kitty Hawk, NC, where the Wright brothers flew for the first time. We always had a budget. Sometimes we had our meals at parks along the road with a Coleman stove and picnic table. We stayed in modest motels, and it was a real treat to stay in a motel with a swimming pool.

When I was five years old, we headed to Niagara Falls to enjoy the unique beauty and majesty of the pounding water. No one knows how it happened, but at one point I found myself standing at the Welcome Center tent with a nice lady who had brought me there. Then the announcement: “Will the parents of Cathy Warner please come to the Welcome Center tent?”

Fortunately for me, my parents showed up! I do not remember feeling frightened or concerned. I knew somehow that we had just gotten separated and that they would come and claim me. There was no anxiety; I knew they would show up and they did. 

Our series Unstuck continues with the message, Claiming our Belovedness. It is based on Romans 8:31-35, 37-39. Paul’s letter to the Romans addresses separation anxiety and assures us that we are part of God’s family – today, tomorrow, and forever. God will always love us as beloved children; God will always claim us. 

This Sunday we celebrate All Saints Day when we remember the faithful departed who now dwell with God. We will celebrate the promise of Jesus in the last words of Matthew’s gospel: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

I look forward to celebrating our faithful God with you this Sunday. 

Peace,

Pastor Cathy Johns