From Your Pastor

Brian Lays

Dear Riversiders:

It is never easy to say goodbye to those who are beloved to us. On March 12, we said goodbye to Josh Stafford, which I know has been difficult for many of us, myself included. Josh’s ability to play the organ is remarkable, and he certainly maximized the wonderful instrument we installed in our sanctuary not long ago. He also brought out the best in our very capable choir, which was especially difficult to see him go, having worked so closely with him.

I want to acknowledge the sadness I know many of you feel, and the uncertainly surrounding the question of who could possibly replace Josh. I understand these weighty emotions. But I also want to remind you all that our goal is not to replace Josh, but rather to find another individual who will bring their own set of unique gifts and abilities to our music ministry. With every departure, even difficult ones, there are new opportunities, and our music search committee has been thinking deeply about those opportunities as we begin our search process.

I also want to remind you of the obvious: our worship continues! As Josh was always quick to remind us, worship is about more than any one individual; worship is “the work of the people” (which is the meaning of the word liturgy). Or, I should say, the one Individual worship is about is the Triune God we know in and through Jesus Christ. So long as worship is about God, and not about us, no matter how breathtaking our spiritual gifts may be, it will always be possible to move forward.

To that end, I hope you all will make a special point to engage with our worship services throughout the remainder of Lent. The cycle of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday through Easter, is a journey with Christ that we can never travel too many times: into Jerusalem, into the temple, into the Upper Room, into Pilate’s courts, onto the cross, into the tomb, and, at last, into the Garden of Resurrection and into the empty tomb.

In worship, we participate in the profound drama of this narrative, which proclaims our salvation. We ponder the weight of sin and brokenness and confront the powers of death. We weep with Mary and marvel with the Centurion at the cross. We ponder the pregnant silence of Holy Saturday. And, at last, we are ready to receive the full measure of joy on Easter morning, and to be reminded that death does not have the last word!

It’s a journey that is relevant every single year. So join us as our worship continues—we need each and every one of you to fully participate in this story of our salvation.

Grace and peace,

Brian