2022 Year in Review
It has truly been a year like no other for Hagar's Community Church. While churches and faith communities around the world have in large part spent the year re-opening their doors and worshiping together in person after nearly two years of isolation, the experience of HCC has been a reversal of that narrative. Although Covid certainly impacted us early on, we were able to continue in-person ministry in some form throughout most of 2020 and 2021. But Omicron hit WCCW hard, and outbreaks inside shut down all activities for months. Now, a full year later, we remain in a holding pattern, waiting to be granted access to resume worship services and pastoral care with our beloved siblings inside.
Despite the frustration and disappointment of not being able to worship together in person, we trust that God is still on the move. God is present inside WCCW, even when we are not. Those of us on the outside are like gardeners in planting season, watching the ground, waiting for signs of life. We hope and pray that deep in the earth there are seeds splitting open, roots reaching down into the soil, and seedlings making their way toward the light. May the breakthrough come soon.
While we wait, we have reason to celebrate. Not all of the action is unseen! God has been moving in tangible, visible ways as well. Here are some things we are celebrating from 2022:
We worked with the Presbyterian Foundation to create the wonderful video at the top of this post, which shares the vision and mission of Hagar's Community Church!
We added three new members to the HCC Guide Team
We celebrated Pastor Riley's amazing work as Interim Pastor of HCC and sent her off to her next ministry adventure as a hospice chaplain
We hired a Bridge Pastor (that's me!) to bridge the gap between Pastor Riley's departure and the hiring of a new full-time pastor for HCC
We formed a Pastor Nominating Committee, which drafted and published a Ministry Information Form to help identify candidates for the full-time pastor position
We worked closely with the WA Department of Corrections to re-establish ourselves as an approved volunteer organization, attending required trainings and submitting volunteer paperwork
We continued to partner with Underground Ministries, including a new pen pal venture (open to folks who will not be volunteering inside WCCW)
As the year comes to an end, we are filled with gratitude, hope, and joyful expectation. We also want to acknowledge that we could not do this work without the faithful support of so many of you. If you would like to include Hagar's Community Church in your year-end giving plans, we invite you to click here to make a donation. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!