My brothers and sisters at Messiah,

This is a bittersweet newsletter piece, as it is the last one I will be writing to you as your pastor. And, by my reckoning, it is the fiftieth that I have written as well. What to say in my final letter to you? Well, first of all: Thank you. Thank you for four-and-a-half years of ministry here in East Setauket. Thank you for the love shown to me and my family, and thank you for your partnership in the Gospel. Thank you for helping me grow as a pastor, and for teaching me through our time together. Thank you for weathering the ups and downs of the COVID lockdowns and all that came after them with me. Thank you for taking part in the communal life of God’s people at Messiah, and for bringing your gifts to bear in our life together. I trust and pray that none of this will change once I am gone– indeed, I hope that it only increases.

In thinking about what I might write to you, my mind went to something that St. Paul wrote to St. Timothy in his second letter to him. Now, bear in mind, Timothy is a pastor, but I think what Paul tells him applies to all Christians, both lay and clergy. This is what Paul writes:

“Therefore do not be ashamed of
the testimony about our Lord, nor of me
his prisoner, but share in suffering for
the gospel by the power of God, who
saved us and called us to a holy calling,
not because of our works but because of
his own purpose and grace, which he
gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages
began, and which now has been
manifested through the appearing of our
Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death
and brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel, for which I was
appointed a preacher and apostle and
teacher, which is why I suffer as I do.
But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I
have believed, and I am convinced that he
is able to guard until that day what has
been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that
you have heard from me, in the faith and
love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy
Spirit who dwells within us, guard the
good deposit entrusted to you.” (2
Timothy 1:8-14, ESV)

Paul is in prison, and he’s expecting to die soon. He is writing to Timothy to encourage him to persevere in the faith, to continue trusting in Jesus and living accordingly. To guard and grow his faith. Pastoral vacancies can be scary for congregations. There are a lot of questions that are no doubt going through everyone's minds right now with me taking another call. “What will the future hold? Will we keep doing what we've been doing? Will we keep growing? Will we stagnate? How will we maintain momentum? Will we be able to take care of some of the issues facing our congregation during the interim? What will happen to us?”
When these questions come to mind, I want you to remember what Paul tells Timothy. You have what Timothy has. He may be a pastor, but Paul reminds him that he has what every Christian has. He has received a calling from Christ to serve him; he has received sound words and teaching
from Jesus through Paul; he has received the good deposit of faith in Jesus. 

We all have these things. God has called us to be members of our congregation, we have heard the Gospel promises of God for us, and thus know God's love for us sinners, and we have faith in these promises. God
has given us the “good deposit” of faith.
If we remember the Parable of the Talents, each servant in the parable is given a series of talents to invest–one ten talents, one five, and to the last servant, one talent. The talents in the parable can be taken to represent different measures of faith, and the recipients of them are expected to make use of their faith, to exercise it and make it grow. The first two do, but the third does not do anything with the measure of faith he has been given. The first two are commended for investing in their faith, the third is
reprimanded for burying it.
So we are presented with a call-to-arms of sorts. God has given us that good deposit of faith in Jesus Christ. We know that we have been redeemed from sin and have been given the opportunity to grow and
exercise our faith, to do the good works in the Spirit that God has set up for us to do from the beginning. God has given us the strength to persevere in our life and walk in faith, and he challenges us to keep at it in the face of adversity.
Messiah Lutheran Church is your church. More importantly, it’s God’s church. But Messiah is your congregation. It is the place to which God has brought you to receive his gifts in Word and Sacrament. It is the place to which God has brought you to have a community with other believers, with your brothers and sisters here, fellow members of Christ’s body. It is the place in which God has placed you to grow in faith and to serve others. So when fears about the future at Messiah come calling, remember that this is God’s church. He will protect his flock here. All will be well so long as we trust in him. But remember, too, that God has given you this congregation, and you can exercise your deposit of faith through your service to and support of Messiah. So much that happens at Messiah depends upon the work of volunteers. So much depends on faithful laypeople. And you have done so much! Every six months, when I write up the “Good Happenings” document for the congregational meeting, I am continually amazed and impressed by how much we have accomplished together since 2020. I know you can and will keep doing all the good and wonderful things that God has given you to do for our church family. I know you will meet the challenge. So guard the good deposit of faith entrusted to you, and keep supporting this congregation. You’ll be amazed to see what God does through you. And I look forward to hearing about it!
Again, I want to thank you all for the privilege and honor of being your pastor. You will continue to be in my prayers, and you will always hold a special place in my heart as my first congregation. I pray that we
will see each other again down the line. Until then,
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you.
May the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you his peace.
Amen.
I love you, and Jesus loves you too.

In His grip,
Pastor Nils Niemeier