As I am settling in back at home and preparing to preach this Sunday, reflecting on my “mountaintop” experience, I thought I would share my gratitude with you for all that went into the Transformed by the Spirit and Mission Summit experiences, past and ongoing…

When the ABCUSA gathers, it is amazing just how much like “family” it feels, even around tables of complete strangers and thousands gathered in a convention hall.  We were given a powerful opportunity this June to share and celebrate our diversity, true, but also to connect around the things we have in common, specifically, ministry challenges that we are all facing.  I heard people’s joys and celebrations, and their struggles and fears–and I come home to tell my church that there are others who know just what we are struggling with and what we are afraid of, and I bring back the assurance that we are not alone.  Together we will think on these matters, we will pray on these matters, and we will discover new possibilities regarding these matters, by our togetherness and our connection to our profoundly creative Source in the Holy Spirit.

We are blessed, even in this wilderness time of dramatic change and chaos, by our coming together to listen, to share, and to imagine new possibilities with and by the grace of God.  Great courage and risk were required to engage this process, in you and in many leaders who are a part of this adventure.  I am sincerely grateful to have been a part of Transformed by the Spirit and to have served as a conversation facilitator at this Mission Summit.  I extend to you my gratitude and my ongoing support!

Peace, Stacy

Rev. Stacy Emerson
Union Baptist Church, Mystic, CT