Happy New Year!

The Christ Child is born. The Child is with us, growing in the world through the year.

I remember how time raced on after my daughter was born. No matter how hard we try to hold on to the present and savor every moment when our children are young, the growth and changes of young ones are tremendously rapid and inevitable. Within a week, an infant can change so dramatically. A child can smile, sit up, turn-over, crawl, climb up, walk, talk… all in a blink of an eye. I am always amazed at how a child grows and changes. In every step, every change a child goes through, there are so many infinite possibilities. It’s breathtaking just to think about the infinite possibilities there are within a life growing and changing.

So, as I stand at this threshold of a new year, having just recalled the birth of the Christ Child and my own child, I am reminded of what the future holds as we look forward to another year in our life. Like the infinite possibilities of a child growing, we too have infinite possibilities in the future. We do not always look at future in that way, because we often feel tied down, insecure and fearful. Anticipating infinite possibilities is both threatening and exciting. For young ones, those infinite possibilities are exciting; but for us seasoned life travelers, any change is unwelcome, because we have invested so much into our lives already, and have built a secured “home” base. Any change would only rock and shake the foundation of our life and our identity. Therefore, it is scary thinking and looking forward to another year of infinite possibilities.

And yet, life does not stay the same. Time does not stand still. We are constantly growing and changing. Just as we celebrate, support, and encourage our children’s growth, we ought to welcome the coming year. Welcome all that possibilities for growth and change. Living with faith, especially the Christmas faith, we ought to be able to journey forward unafraid. Embracing the Emmanuel, God with us, we say yes to life-changing possibilities.

In the coming year, UPC will be going through some changes, with an open-minded and discerning spirit. We have said good-bye to our organist, Avery Tunningley, of 20 years, and we will be seeking a new music staff. After May, we will abolish our Associate Pastor position, because of our financial and membership decline. The Session is looking to function and do our ministries without department structure. And most importantly, our Session is seeking to join other churches in Schenectady to begin an intentional shared ministry. After two successful alternative worship experiences, we will be exploring many more alternative worship styles. We will also continue to stress evangelism/faith-sharing in all our ministries and mission.

In all that I mentioned, it may look like we are actually cutting back and shrinking. But, I want to stress that “growth” does not measure in size and numbers. We all know that when we watch our children grow, we are not talking about size and ages, but we look for the skills they acquire. We look for their mental and emotional maturity. And we always hope that their heart would grow and learn to love stronger and deeper.

Therefore, I urge you to join me at this beginning of 2011 to anticipate with faith and excitement the infinite possibilities for UPC’s coming year.

Happy New Year!