From the Congregational Church of Eastford
Greetings Eastford! I grew up in the Sun Belt, so I missed out on those deep Yankee roots that so many of you have. Even after coming to Connecticut 45 years ago, I still cannot get used to how dark it gets here in the winter. That said, I love the fall here (except the leaf raking). We see the stunning beauty of the fall foliage—a spectacle my southern and western upbringing never afforded. Its beauty is a clear reminder that God is a master Creator and the One who created us all. I offer that our right response is to worship our great God.
Back to the shortening of the days. The beauty of autumn will fade, and with it comes a foreboding sense that dark and cold will be upon us soon. Too soon. In our souls we know that light is life and that darkness is not OK. Have you ever met a little kid who was afraid of the dark? Me too — I was one. How about a child afraid of the light? Only naughty ones. Darkness is where evil hides. It is where death abides. Darkness is where we cannot see the truth — it is the realm of deceit.
Light is the opposite of all that, bringing goodness, life, and truth. Jesus said these words: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
For me, when I met Jesus at the age of 39, His light blazed into my life, and everything changed. Our prayer at the Congregational Church of Eastford is that His light might shine in your life as well. A few nights ago, we had a power outage, and there was no moon. Getting to the bathroom was a real “toe stubber.” Even a little light would have been great. Come check out Jesus.
Join us for worship any Sunday at 10 a.m. Please check our website (cceastford.org) to find out where, as we will soon be transitioning from the Eastford School to our new building at 54 John Perry Road (building construction schedules are tricky, so watch for an “Opening Sunday” event later in the fall).
As far as getting acquainted with Jesus, Eastford is blessed with two churches that proclaim his excellencies—ours and Eastford Baptist. Our differences are subtle, as we follow the same Bible and the same Jesus.
A final note. As we move into our new building soon, we are overflowing with gratitude to you, our community, for your kindness and generosity. We lost our historic church building to a fire, rendering us homeless for 3 1/2 years, and have been so very blessed to have space to meet and financial gifts to help us rebuild. Our blessing has come from you — and we say “thank you” with all our hearts. The way our community cared for us is also a beautiful testament to what a wonderful people inhabit Eastford.