March 25, 2021
Dear Fort Hill Faith Family:
2020 was not at all what we expected! But looking back, we can give thanks for the way God has sustained, comforted, and provided for us. And the following pages show us how faithful disciples fulfilled our mission in creative and meaningful ways. The Annual Report sounds very corporate, but this document is really an account of the ways we have witnessed God’s purposes and provision through all of us, near and far.
And when I read this, I can only give thanks and praise to God! Gratitude is my first response. We have all learned to study, serve, work, parent, worship, and live differently this year. And what I notice is that we get to the real heart of the matter, whether in our family and friendships, our worship and ministry, our sense of neighborliness. This year we learned to cheer for healthcare workers each night. We saw how important and essential those who stock our grocery shelves, bring our packages, do repair work, teach children, and keep the power and internet working really are. We have also seen suffering and pain. We have learned to build our resiliency muscles for emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. We have learned that necessity is indeed the mother of invention. And when we are creative and inventive, trusting and loving, we are more and more like God in whose image we are made.
We will never be the same again. And when folks want to go back to the way things were, maybe we pause, take stock, and think, now we know how much better we can be. I hope so.
You, Fort Hill disciples, have inspired me in the ways you glorify God by growing in discipleship and meeting human needs. Thanks for being salt and light, those essential and simple gifts to God’s world for the sake of the crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Let’s keep moving forward in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Gratefully Yours,
Laura Smith Conrad, Pastor