“Pastor’s Letter June 2021”

Greetings, members, and friends of the Riviera United Church of Christ.  Here it is June already and so, so much has transpired in our Country and around the world that it is hard to grasp it all at times!  For most of us, much has also occurred in our personal lives also!  Here in our church family, we have lost members, old time members, and we have lost an active member of our congregation to the Covid-19 virus.  It has been a trying and hard six months for a great many.  Yet, no matter where we are on this journey of life, we all need to face its realities: hardship, frustrations and yes, even grief at times.  Still, we must continue to accept life on life’s terms!  Thankfully, we do not do this alone, and we have not!  God has been with us every step of the way.  Carrying us when the going has gotten truly difficult.  If you are not feeling God’s presence in your life, please reach out to someone to talk with; reach out to me, your Pastor.

We each need to be selfish in our ‘self care’ as it pertains to our personal needs; this includes our ‘spiritual life’, our ‘relationship’ with our understanding of God.  Prayerfully, I pray each of you have been taking advantage of our effort to make our Sunday worship services available to you.  This is being done, live, and on-line, as-well-as on our website at rivieraucc.org.  This needs to be our ‘First Priority’ for our needs as faithful members, friends, and for our visitors each week.  Our relationship with our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer is crucial and needs to be our focus daily.  It is only from this ‘footing’ that we shall have the ‘intuitive’ sense as to how to effectively ‘’pass-on’ our gift of faith to others.

We continue to need to return to our basic rudiments of faith, turning to our God in prayer, seeking direction and new hope for the future.  Also, we continue to need and rely upon the teachings of Christ and the strength of the Holy Spirit – to give us ‘new spirit’ and ‘new energy’ to push forward with our journeys of faith – well into the future!  May the Spirit of Christ and the Love of God sustain you each day.  Amen.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Tim Woodard