Dear Church Family,
Recently I celebrated the 50th anniversary of my ordination to ministry.  This very  moving service took place on September 24, 1972 in my home church, Huntingdon Valley (PA) Presbyterian Church. A number of people from the Salisbury Congregational Church, where I was serving at the time,  came to take part.  The pastor of that church, the Rev. Charles W. Ranson,  preached the sermon, as he did when Lynn and I married three years later. 
The church in America has changed a lot in those years.  The percentage of persons attending worship has gone down.  Surveys say trust and respect for the church has declined.  The number of people who declare they have “no” religious affiliation has more than tripled, especially among those under 40.  Too often religion has become a weapon in the culture wars. 
Although these challenges have been increasing in the last half century,  I am so grateful that God led me  into ministry and  still find it such a satisfying and rich vocation.  And there are reasons to hope.  Covid has challenged churches to think creatively about how to communicate the gospel.  People now tend to be in church not because of cultural expectation but in order to know what it means to follow Jesus.  And in parts of the world, especially in the southern hemisphere, the church is growing rapidly.  In many ways it is an exciting time. 
Thank you for the privilege of enabling me to live out my ordination vows and continue to serve Jesus in Falls Village.  
We finish the series on prayer by focusing on  “The Perseverance of Prayer. “  The texts are Isaiah 55:1-9 and Luke 18:1-8.
See you in church.
Peace and Joy,
Rich