04-30-26

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 30, 2026
In yesterday’s Etching, I talked about gratitude, specifically for those things we may not even see. Well, today, I want to give thanks for something we can see, though not necessarily a “thing,” but a person. I want to give thanks for Rev. Dr. Amber Mattingly, who served as our Interim Youth Minister. To be honest, I needed someone who could step in, take responsibility, offer solid theology, be organized, and not require any micromanaging. Amber was that person. She is brilliant, organized, fun, theologically sound, deeply spiritual, and I did not have to worry one moment. She was a gift to us and really did a nice job of creating some consistency, helping to level the ground for Graham to easily step into his new position. The timing was perfect as Amber’s availability was coming to a close in early May. One might even say God had a hand in things. Like a lot of you, I am a busy person. And though I wish that busyness didn’t hinder my capacity to see and give thanks for all the amazingly generous, kind, and talented people all around me, it does. I’m trying to do better, and so I have been reading the close of some of the Apostle Paul’s Letters where he gives thanks for individuals who have served alongside him. For example, toward the end of Romans, Paul wrote, 

Say hello to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life. I’m not the only one who thanks God for them, but all the churches of the Gentiles do the same. Also say hello to the church that meets in their house. Say hello to Epaenetus, my dear friend, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. Say hello to Mary, who has worked very hard for you. Say hello to Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners. They are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Say hello to Ampliatus… (and it just continues).

You continue to touch our lives with the kindness of grace-filled people, O God who blessed Paul and so many others. Provide us with the capacity for spiritual contemplation and sacred awareness that allows us to see the gifts shared by so many. Amen.