Pastor’s eNote: Weekly Update

I have astigmatism. That is, my eyes are slightly misshapen, making things appear blurry in a way that is different than being near-sighted or far-sighted. When I wore glasses to help with it, I found my vision was a little disorienting.

The solution for me was to begin wearing contact lenses. The one in my left eye is for view things up close, like reading. The one in my right eye is for distance vision. Over a short period of time my brain re-wired itself to compensate for differing vision in each of my eyes. If I get the contact lenses in the wrong eye – watch out!

Vision for what is near to me while having vision for what is father away is a gift. When I really need to focus on something close, I can close my right eye to see even more clearly. In many ways, this is the story of our lives and even our own church.

We all have something or someone in our life which is close and invites our immediate attention. Having the presence of spirit to focus on what is right in front of us matters. When people are hurting, even ourselves, our attention must turn the urgent need.

There are other moments in our life when we need to look into the distance to see where we are going. The goals we set, the callings we pursue, and the purpose we hold for our lives invites us to stay focused on the future.

Vision for what is near. Vision for what is far.

For our church, we are discerning our way forward with our ministries and how our current facilities help or might even hinder us. We need to find a way for our campus to serve the needs of today while looking into the future to see what God is bringing into being. Near and far.

My prayer for FFMC is that we can hold “near and far” with a deep sense of trust of the Lord’s leading in our midst. God is opening the field for us to wonder about now and what next. May we each find our own way to see with God’s vision; for our church today and church not yet here.

Grace to you all,

Craig+

Pastor Craig Brown

(September 22nd, 2026)