Rev. Stephen McKinney-Whitaker • Pastor

This year has been a whirlwind of Derry 300 events that culminated last weekend with our 300th anniversary homecoming celebration, worship, and cemetery rededication. We’ve spent the whole year remembering, reflecting, giving thanks for our heritage and the saints of Derry, and looking toward the future of Derry. We’ve traveled, we’ve sung, we’ve learned, and last weekend we gathered together. 

Much could be said about our homecoming weekend, but the word I keep coming back to is love. I felt surrounded by love in the Hershey Lodge on Saturday night amid the happy reunions, boisterous laughter, and shared memories. I could tell everyone gathered loved one another, loved Derry, and loved God. We broke bread together, we reflected on our past, and we heard an important word for the future from Rev. David Latimer, about who we are called to be for God and the world. Our call is to share the love that shapes us. Derry does that by proclaiming God’s word, sharing God’s love, and practicing God’s justice together. We are deeply rooted in love, and that’s where our growth has come from over the past 300 years.

We’ve spent the majority of this year looking back, and now it’s time to look forward to our next 300 years. Our work is not done, our story is not finished, our mission is not yet complete. Our world has not yet learned to live and love well together, so we — all of us — need a place, and we need a time that reminds us what love is and what it does and how it shapes us. We need a place to remind us that we are all defined by who and how we love.

That’s what Derry is, and has been for 300 years. I hope that’s why you come, and why you volunteer, and why you give to the work of this church. You, and all the past saints of Derry, have given of their time, talent, and treasure to make Derry a place to worship, serve and belong, as well as a place to remember the love that shapes our lives. I hope you’ve found this to be that place, that needed place, for you and the world.  

Entering our annual stewardship season, we can be inspired by our past, encouraged by our present, and hopeful about our future. In coming weeks we will be reflecting on what we can give so that Derry can continue to proclaim God’s word, we share God’s love and we practice God’s justice… or to say it another way, to share the love that shapes us. 

I’m feeling inspired and hopeful after such a memorable and special weekend. I loved the weekend, and I love Derry, and I love each of you. Derry is a special place: it is a place of love. Thank you for all you do to ensure that Derry remains a place where love is taught, given, shared, and received.