Christmas 2018
Dear Friends and Family,
As I compose this letter on my birthday, I am thinking
about the present that I received from Will. Practically every year I say to him: “This
year for my birthday and Christmas would you take me to the Ryman in Nashville
to see Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God?” This year
during the concert it struck me that the epic story of God extends to us and
through us extends to the world. Jesus, who at his birth was Son of God and Son
of Man, comes to us and as we welcome His love and reign in our lives, he then
sends us out on further adventures of telling everyone we meet that He is
worthy!
I appreciate being introduced to artists such as Scott
Mulvahill, a talented upright bass (double bass) player with a blues sound and
an incredible voice. He was part of the band for the tour and has just released
a new album called Himalayas (Please check out his music at
www.ScottMulvahill.com or watch the music video for the song on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCz83djGJZA).
This cover song is our theme song now as we are at a crossroads in this Kingdom
of God adventure.
A little over eight years ago Will received a call
to serve at Oakdale Christian Academy here in Kentucky as the director of the
capital campaign to help get the new girls’ dorm built. The dorm, rightfully
called “The Inn” has been built, Odermann Hall the boys’ dorm has been
completely renovated and just recently May Hall a new dining hall was started. I
was originally hired as dorm parent for girls and later appointed as the pastor
of the Oakdale Free Methodist Church. The Lord has blessed us and Oakdale over
these years.
Over the past eight years I have also completed my
Doctor of Ministry degree from Northeastern Seminary, served as the president
of the Breathitt County Ministerial Association, and saw my doctoral
dissertation go from written form to a full length documentary. The documentary,
Lived
Experience, features the stories of five female pastors. (If you would
like to view my work it can be viewed on-line at http://new.fmcusa.org/conversations/lived-experience-of-female-free-methodist-pastors/)
Earlier this year we began feeling like the Lord was
preparing us and Oakdale for a change. We left it in the Lord’s capable hands
and over the summer and into the fall I was invited to fill the pulpit (preach)
at a number of churches in Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, and New York during
breaks here at Oakdale. I was blessed to serve these churches who were either
without a pastor or whose pastors were on sabbatical.
In October, I was invited to preach at the Gerry
Free Methodist Church, in Gerry, New York. During that weekend I was asked to
meet with the pastoral transition team. For reference, Gerry is a small town in
south western New York State. It is an hour or so east of Erie, PA and about two
hours south of Niagara Falls. After a time of seeking the Lord’s direction I (we)
have decided to accept the position of senior pastor at the Gerry Free
Methodist Church.
As the anticipation of the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ was experienced by the people of Israel, and now as we await the coming
again of our Savior, Will and I anticipate how the Lord will show up in the
next couple of months. We are excited to be part of serving a Mighty God who
does great things for all of us as we serve in His kingdom.
Thank you for your prayers as we make this
transition in mid to late February 2019!
Peace,
Roberta (and Will) Mosier-Peterson
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