Month of Ministry: Pastor Appreciation

A little over two years ago, we called Nathan Russell to be our pastor. I remember my first view of Nathan—tall, lanky, dark-rimmed glasses, big grin. He told us his background and mentioned his elderly Golden Lab, Sadie. When he arrived in Elyria, Nathan hit the deck running. He jumped into all aspects of our church life, hurrying to understand WACC, and to find his place with us. We got used to seeing him running around at warp speed, asking questions, taking on challenges, getting to know us, and, happily, inserting “Y’all” into our vocabulary. As our Senior Pastor, Nathan quickly embraced our motto: From Our Doorsteps…to the Ends of the Earth.

WACC life was going pretty smoothly, and then the coronavirus hit. Our beloved church had to temporarily suspend in-person worship and other activities, and we could no longer see our pastor and friends face-to-face. No more services, no more Chancel Choir and handbell choir, no more greetings with hugs, no more coffee hours and meals in Fellowship Hall. No more Elder, Board and committee meetings in the flesh. It was sudden, drastic, and HARD!

But Nathan barely skipped a beat, giving us virtual services on YouTube, introducing us to “Zoom” meetings, working with staff and church leaders to keep our WACC life as close to normal as possible. Through the virtual services, Nathan has spread our message far beyond our physical doorsteps. This period of non-contact has been hard on all of us. We miss our church life, but through Nathan’s efforts, we are staying connected, accomplishing goals, and keeping the faith. Please take a moment to thank Pastor Nathan for keeping us together and holding down the fort until we can get back together.

We appreciate you, Pastor Nathan, more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow!

Jane Hutson and the Worship Committee