ittybittySmithy: Dear Liberty Saints

For the past two and a half years, Mike and I have had the privilege of being at Liberty Community Church. If you are a reader of this blog, you know that we have LOVED our time there. So, it is certainly very bittersweet to leave and come to North Carolina. Our last Sunday, Mike and I both spoke to express our love and thankfulness to the congregation. So, I wanted to share those letters here. These letters are not completely verbatim what we said that Sunday morning. But, it hopefully it touches on the love we have for them.

(This one is from Mike)
To the saints at Liberty, who were so aptly named by Dr. Joe Bailey during his tenure as pastor. You are saints because you have been set apart as God’s holy people. You are saints because you are called to be holy. These are scriptural and theological truths that are true of all God’s people. I call you saints for this reason and also for another. In a more personal sense, I call you saints because this is who, after two and half years, I know you to be. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul says that he always prays for that congregation with joy because of their “partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

I share the same sentiment when I consider Liberty. In Paul’s case, the Philippians supported him financially in his ministry. You have certainly done this for me, and I am grateful for Liberty’s generosity, which is truly more than I expected. But I can’t stop with financial compensation as I consider how you have partnered with me in the gospel. You took a young man who was wet behind the ears and allowed me the chance to grow as a pastor among you. It was in the walls of this church that I learned to preach.

It was within this church that I practiced pastoral care. It was in the safety of this community that I got my first taste of the pastorate, and I am blessed to say that my first pastoral experience has been a good one. This last point is perhaps the greatest gift you have given to my family and me.

As a loving and supportive congregation, you welcomed us into your midst and called us your own. We have felt secure among you – no small thing when you hear some of the sadder stories of ministry – and in many ways you have shown us what church can be. For many years to come, Liberty will stand as our golden standard of a warm, loving, and joyful community.

These qualities have made Liberty a place where Emily and I love to bring our children and take part ourselves. Indeed, we consider it a privilege of the highest order to have become part of this community. Thank you for partnering with us in the gospel by giving us a healthy place to learn the ropes of being a family in ministry. Thank you for partnering with us by showing us the meaning of joy and warmth

. Thank you for partnering with us by giving us a window into what church can be. This partnership has been so very beneficial for us, and we thank God for having planted us in this community. - Mike

Dear Liberty,
Other than my wedding day and the birth of Bella, you all have been through the most joyous times in my life, the birth of Jonathan, and the hardest times, the loss of our child at 12 weeks. I can not express to you the thankfulness I have for walking with us, crying with us, laughing with us, and being "family" to us.

For my children, thank you for being 20+ more sets of grandparents! Bella learned how to walk in this church - literally, as you let her walk down the aisle with her push toys. You set up a rocker for me to rock our sweet little boy to sleep. You played peek-a-boo with Bella while Mike was preaching. =)

Thank you for being "church" to our children. It's very important to us for our children to experience how church should be, how God designed it to be, how we are to act within the Body of Christ. You all have certainly made a reality for us.

For Mike, thank you for being a safe place for him to learn what it is to be a pastor. And for being so supportive in his call to ministry.

And, for me, thank you for being family. God was so gracious and good to us to lead us to Liberty Community Church. The love you showed us are forever engraved on our hearts and on our life. Although we leave with great sadness, we also leave with hearts full of new friends and family, a heart full of thankfulness, a heart full of a taste of the Kingdom. Love you, Emily

The rest of the post is dedicated to the great pictures from the day:

They were so sweet to have a party for us...with lots of great food! Liberty Saints can cook!

Mrs. Betty - I just love her!

Bella always enjoyed playing the piano and singing here at the church. We have some great memories after church on Sundays with just our family in the church and Bella singing. Those were times to try to stop time and capture the moment.