By Jon Woolner, the new Lead Pastor at Evergreen Covenant Church
Me and my wife, Shannon, recently made the move to Seattle in January 2021. I accepted the invitation from Evergreen Covenant Church on Mercer Island to be their lead pastor. For the past 20 years I have been part of the Pacific Southwest Conference and have served as a church planter in the Los Angeles area and also as a transitional pastor in Northern California. This is new territory for both of us and even though we are surrounded by the immense beauty of the PNW, our hearts are feeling that all to familiar ache of yet another transition in life. Can we do this? How do we cultivate hope among all this uncertainty?
As I step into what, Richard Rohr refers to, as the ‘second half of life,’ I do feel hope that the Spirit has good things ahead. It can be difficult to hold on to a beautiful future when you are in the midst of change. I’ve discovered that we humans would soon rather die than change at times. My brain has often said, ‘enough with the change Jon. Forging new friendships, finding my place in a new context and resisting the urge to go back to what is familiar, feels a bit overwhelming at times.
We are currently living in Seattle, situated in a community called, Columbia City. On my daily drive to and from Evergreen I am faced with some of the broken parts of this city. I remember stepping out onto my front porch back in January and felt the invitation from the Spirit to create a daily practice that would help my heart attach to this new place. Each morning, I step outside and say, ‘good morning Seattle, I love you!’ I do this because I know how easy it is to slide into indifference. Many times the default inside my narrative can be, ‘what does this place has to offer to me?’ I don’t want to just take from Seattle, I want be a life giving presence in this place. I believe God loves and aches for the city of Seattle. I want my heart to be a reflection of that deep compassion.
If we happen to come to your awareness, would you please keep us in your prayers. Even if all you do is to say, ‘Lord today I pray for Jon and Shannon.’ I’ll take it! We are here. Open and ready to receive all that Jesus invites us to participate in.
Doing my best to hold on to all the goodness of God
Jon, Cultivator of Culture and Formation, Evergreen Covenant Church
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