First Presbyterian Church of Fresno

Dear First Pres,

Dear First Pres,

   Sabbatical is coming! If you haven’t heard, the Session (our leadership board of elders) has approved a 3-month sabbatical for me this summer. I’ll be gone June 1 - August 31.  

Dear First Pres,

   One of our core values as a congregation is transformational leadership. It’s both a reality and an aspiration. FPC Fresno has long been a community in which people are raised up in leadership within the congregation and for the community at large.

Dear First Pres,

   Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! And, indeed, it was a wonderful day together on Sunday. Whether you joined the service in-person or online, I pray you experienced the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. Huge kudos go out to all the musicians (your music was amazing), greeters and ushers (so many commented on the warm hospitality), techies (lights, sound, screens, live stream – wow), courtyard hosts (my goodness, did you see the food?!?) and all the rest who helped make the morning so glorious. 

Dear First Pres,

   One of the Lenten resources that I’ve truly appreciated for the last several years is the “Seek God for the City” prayer guide. I appreciate the way that it expands my thinking and praying. By consistently praying through the guide, I am prompted to pray for the whole world. I am prompted to pray for several particular groups or communities of people. And I am prompted to pray in alignment with our vision to see things “in Fresno as it is in Heaven.”

Dear First Pres,

   On this last day of March I see a bit more clearly that Holy Week is soon upon us. I am flooded with Easter memories. Here are a few:

   When I was in 1st or 2nd grade, Dad was stationed at Castle Air Force base and we lived in Winton. Our parents hid the Easter baskets and my brothers and I had to find & follow clues to get to the baskets. I think we found them in the dryer. I’m not sure why, but this did not become a tradition.

Dear First Pres,

   We received some big news this week of some upcoming changes on our staff.

   Kaitlyn Kelley, who has been serving as our Front Desk Administrator and is also a Pink House Intern, will be stepping down in May as she prepares for life after the Pink House. It’s been a joy to get to know Kaitlyn these past several months as she has served with a smile and a “yep, yep.” And we’re excited for what the Lord has in store for her next, even if she’s not quite sure what that is just yet.

Dear First Pres,

   We finally finished Ezra! I hope you enjoyed our study of this Old Testament book as much as I did. I found it to be a wonderfully rich experience academically and spiritually. But as we ended on Sunday with a passage that was hard to swallow, I wished I would have emphasized one more element of God’s amazing grace. Good thing I send a letter to the congregation every week!

Dear First Pres,

   So, we’re now in day 9 of the Lenten season. Many of us have taken on a new spiritual discipline or have been intentionally abstaining from something (fasting) to help us lean in to the Lord in this special season of the year. My question for you is this: how’s it going?

Dear First Pres,