Pastoral note, from Randy

From the genesis of a new faith community dreamed and organized in the 1980s up until this present moment, the worship of God has been and still is at the very heart and soul of Woodland Church. Our worship of God is our commitment and identity. It is from this top priority that we derive our ongoing and special ministries, our outreaches, our welcoming spirit, and the joy which comes from being together.
 
The de defacto scripture adopted and celebrated by our faith community is, “Look, I am doing a new thing, and now it springs forth; do your perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19)
 
It’s not difficult to imagine the ways many of our neighbors might feel that the world has become a brutal wilderness for them. Oftentimes, folks argue over whether there are enough financial resources to feed the children, care for the elderly, do right by our military veterans, or maintain a place of refuge for good people in grave danger back in their homelands. We in South Texas worry about enough water resources to meet the needs of an exploding population and to refill our area lakes, ponds, and rivers.
 
We know painfully by watching with open eyes and hurting hearts that there is one thing that seems in ample supply these days ... and that is hostility and cruelty. No shortage of those. It might be easy to conclude that our world has, for many, become a wilderness of rocky meanness and a desert of compassion and empathy.
 
It is into such a time that God promised “a new thing.” And one of the places the new thing thrives is at Woodland Church.  
 
In a safe place such as Woodland, we and our neighbors can find an abundance of joy, caring, friendship, singing, and giving. Thanks be to God for the “Woodlands” of the world! These spaces and fellowships are truly national treasures.
 
“A new thing” is very often simply being the hands and feet of Jesus when societies keep reverting to a world which becomes entirely too cold, too icy, too hot, too dry and too brutal for the survival of the human soul. Seems to me that the new thing is at least partly about staying the course of Christ’s love in a world which has reduced its stock value of goodwill, respect for others, sensitivity, and agape love.
 
Randy Edwards