“We are journeying people. From the time we enter into the world until the moment we take our final breath we make our way as life unfolds before us.
So it is with faith. It too is a lifelong journey. Along the way we encounter others, and at these crossing points we encounter the living God.”
Crossings: God’s Journey with Us

Since this is my first post, I think it is appropriate to supply some background. I am the “new kid on the block.” Faith Church (Fort McMurray) is my first charge and I began serving this congregation six months ago. The journey to arrive here was long and bumpy.

The formal training I received in my four years at Knox College challenged my assumptions and deconstructed my faith, threatening, at times, to destroy it (or so it felt). The faith survived… but not unscathed; in the process it metamorphosed into a different shape, enriched by the different opinions and the cross-pollination of the numerous perspectives studied. Though heart-wrenching at times, those were the most formative years of my life… but those years of training were not enough to prepare me (or anyone else, for that matter) for our present reality.

As expected, this short time in congregational ministry brought its fair share of first occasions and first challenges. First time leading Communion, moderating meetings… then, there came the CoVid-19 pandemic with isolation and live-streaming worship, the Athabasca River flood and, more recently, the preparations for the re-launching of our in-person worship.

These challenges, however, pale before the prospects of a diverse ministry, which have fueled my imagination and prompted me to start the quest to identify the ways the Spirit has gifted the local congregation to accomplish God’s will for this time and location. My prayer is that God will give us a renewed sense of vision and direction for the future.

Therefore, I am ever grateful for the past few months journeying with the local congregation and being able to develop, grow and minister. I look forward to the coming months as we encounter our living God in new and unexpected places.

Elias Mendes-Gomes
Faith Presbyterian Church, Fort McMurray (AB)