Dear FWC Family-

This past Sunday (Easter), during the Easter Service, Pastor Brian shared a letter
from Pastor Rick Kavanaugh, our new Senior Pastor, who will be officially
joining our congregation in July. Here's the letter, in it's entirety:

Dear Friends and Family of First Wesleyan,

The Apostle Paul said that if Jesus has not been raised from the dead, then
our faith is in vain. Everything hinges on the resurrection. Its power to
comfort never became so clear to me as when one of my best friends was
tragically killed in an auto accident. I had the honor and challenge of
preaching at his funeral. In my research I came across a reading that gave
me perspective.

Anglican Bishop Charles Henry Brent asked the question, "What is dying?"
Here is his answer;

A ship sails and I stand watching till she fades on the horizon, and someone
at my side says, "She is gone". Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all;
she is just as large as when I saw her. She is just as large in the masts,
hull and spars as she was when I saw her, and just as able to bear her load
of living freight to its destination. No, the diminished size and total loss
of sight is in me, not in her, and just at the moment when someone at my
side says, "she is gone", there are others who are watching her coming, and
other voices take up the glad shout, "There she comes!" ...and that is
dying.

Paul said, "To be absent from the Body is to be present with the Lord."
Because of the Resurrection, we do not cease to live. We simply sail from
one shore to another.

Every transition in life carries that same sense of loss and gain. As we
leave one situation we seem to fade from view, only to discover that in
leaving one harbor, we are at the same time, entering another. As Marcia and
I prepare to leave Presque Isle, there is a sense in which our people are
saying, "She is gone," like a tall ship that has set sail on the sea of
life. But as we prepare to arrive in High Point, we feel the mounting
excitement of one who has been away on a voyage and is at last coming home.

And it's because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ that in every
transition, whether it's the ultimate transition to heaven, or a
reassignment from the throne of God, we can be assured that God is present
at both horizons. He sends us on our way, and at the same time, He is
waiting for our arrival. In that, we take comfort.

We pray God's blessings rest upon you as you celebrate our Lord's
Resurrection, and we can hardly wait for the day when we arrive at our new
home.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Rick and Marcia