It has been my privilege to accompany you at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church these past 11 months. I have accompanied you in congregational song; I have accompanied the choir and soloists; I have accompanied a variety of instrumentalists, handbell ringers, and drummers. I have accompanied the beautiful ministry that is Sing for Life.

I mean more, however. I have accompanied you in the congregational journey out of Covid restrictions into a new, often insecure place. I have accompanied you as some of you grieved, others transitioned to a new phase in life, or cared for a loved one.

Accompanying one another is the joy and blessing of being church together. We come up alongside one another, offering our presence and prayers. If Covid has taught us anything, it certainly has taught us that we can’t always change outcomes, promise futures or know what’s ahead. Covid has taught us that we are vulnerable, all of us. So we accompany one another, assured that God’s care is within reach, in fact, within ourselves to extend to others.

Pinnacle folks love to be together. I noticed that on my first Sunday in October, and that has remained true today. Perhaps you loved being together even more because you couldn’t for such a long time; it felt even more precious when you could. 

Pinnacle is a place with an amazing array of talents, gifts and resources. Its people are diverse in so many ways. What binds you as a congregation is your love of God and its many expressions in this place. There really is a place at the table for everyone.

As the hymn sings it:

For everyone born, a place at the table,
A voice to be heard, a part in the song,
The hands of a child in hands that are wrinkled, 
For young and for old, the right to belong. (Glory to God 769)

Thank you for welcoming me to your table, into your lives, and for the privilege to lead you in song. I have been blessed by our work together, and wish you every blessing as you accompany one another into the future.

Lorraine Brugh
Artist in Residence