I am spending this week amongst the tall redwood trees in the Santa Cruz mountains of Northern California…one of my favorite places on Earth!  I have so many memories of this place…as a child I attended camp here with my family every summer, I worked on summer staff all through college and have attended pastor camp here off and on for the last 20 years.

For me this is a place where I am known deeply to the core of who I am.  As a child it was spending time with friends who attended the same week of camp every year.  As a young adult it was the place where I felt my call to ministry and the place where my faith became my own (and no longer my parents.)  As a pastor this has become the place where I am known by peers, supported in my ministry, encouraged in my struggles and loved deeply through friendships that have walked with me in the highs and lows of my life.

This is also a place where I feel the most connected to God.  Sitting amongst the trees that reach up to the heavens.  Listening to the trickle of the stream as it turns into the rush of the waterfall.  Watching the birds and the squirrels as they go about their daily tasks.  All of these things work together to remind me of how great God our Creator is – so creative, so powerful and such an eye for detail. The more time I spend alone with God, the more I am reminded of how much God cares for me, even in the smallest of details.

This Sunday we begin a series called “This I Believe,” in which we will explore the Apostle’s Creed.  Through this series we will look at each of the four major sections of the Creed…God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Christian Life.  I love the Creeds and Confessions that are a part of our Presbyterian Theology, the ancient statements of faith that have been passed down for generations.  I especially love the Apostle’s Creed as it is truly the foundation for what I believe. 

I hope you will join me on this expedition as together we think deeper about what we believe!

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.