Hi First Presbyterian,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Today, I have two very different things I’d like to tell you about. First is some REALLY good news! Last night, at the meeting of the Presbytery of the Genesee Valley, the Presbytery voted to approve the call of the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford to Rev. Erin Jacobson to serve as Associate Pastor. In other words, you all voted to make her your permanent Associate Pastor at the congregational meeting on February 27th, and now it’s finally official! Erin gets to be your Associate Pastor! This is great news, because Erin is a phenomenal pastor. I am blessed to work alongside her, and I am so happy for YOU that you get to experience her ministry. Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 15, at 3:00 pm, because that is when the Presbytery will be leading her service of installation right here in our sanctuary. You will definitely want to be there!

Secondly, some of you already know that I got COVID this week. It actually took me a while to mentally process the indicators on my at-home test saying that I was positive. But as soon as it sunk in, my mind began putting together the chain of related events, including the fact that I might have to isolate at home this Sunday. This realization did not sit well with me. I love leading worship! It is one of the primary things I believe God has called me to do! I began thinking, “First Presbyterian needs me! They need me to preach this Sunday! I can’t miss it!” So I began trying to calculate the number of days of required isolation to see if I could still lead worship with my mask on the whole time… but then I realized what I was doing. So I stopped my mind from racing and just admitted, “I can’t be there on Sunday. And even if I could technically come out of isolation, it wouldn’t be right to risk anyone else’s health.” I actually mentioned at the church staff meeting yesterday (which I attended virtually) that I was struggling with this, and Dr. Frank said to me, “Aaron, it sounds like you’re telling us you’re having a hard time letting go, which is something that you’ve preached about many times.”  I was so grateful to Bruce for saying that, because he was absolutely right! For me, letting go means admitting that my life is more than just my job as a Pastor, and it means admitting that God’s grace is sufficient in our weakness. Wow! This whole experience is helping me to put that into practice more fully. Plus, it’s also an opportunity for our wonderful new permanent Associate Pastor to preach! I was looking forward to seeing you this week, but we’ll have to wait until a later day. 

 Friends, continue to trust in God’s grace, and let’s give thanks to God for bringing us Erin!

 From my basement,

Pastor Aaron