Reflecting on 2023 & Welcoming 2024

Dear Pali Pres Family,

As we settle into this quiet and calm space between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I invite us all to share in a time of reflection. I encourage you to take the time to look back on these past few weeks and notice all the ways God was active in your life, perhaps opening your eyes (or heart) to something new. Take the time to look back even further, through all of 2023, and see if you can recognize the Holy Spirit in your life at times and in places that you could not see previously. What has God taught you this past year? In what ways has God blessed you and even challenged you to lean more on him?

As Paul writes in Philippians 4:19, “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” As we say “goodbye” to 2023 and “hello” to 2024, it is a good and appropriate time for all of us to take stock of how God has supplied our every need. This is a wonderful week to spend some time acknowledging the faithfulness God has shown us in our lives.

As you will see, this week’s newsletter is a bit shorter than normal. I’m delighted that many of our church staff members are able to take some much-deserved vacation time this week to spend with their families. We have an incredible, hard-working staff here at Pali Pres! Rest assured we will be back with a full News & Notes next week to kick off what is sure to be a year full of blessings for our church!

Happy New Year!

Pastor Matt