It has been 6 long months since I last posted on this blog, and I tell you my friends, much has happened since June. Our daughter is now 6 months old, giggling like crazy, smiling all the time, and has been such a joy to the Joseph family.
As my wife continues to work as a clinical social worker at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino (wow, what a commute!!!), I was just newly hired late October as the Director of Student Ministries at First Presbyterian Church of San Diego.
We are right smack dab in downtown San Diego right off the 5 freeway. The church has a rich history of 150 years, and our pastor, Jerry Andrews, has been here for about a little over a year.
We live now in 31 different zip codes. Throughout San Diego County and beyond, our children attend many schools – public, chartered, at home and our own City Tree Christian School on our campus. Our teens gather in many places to grow up and in the Lord. We work in every industry throughout the region, committed to helping the city and its region flourish. We play in all the places and spaces of God’s creation. Though our houses seem to be everywhere, we consider our spiritual home to be the church campus. Here we worship, find the friends of faith and for a lifetime, work to serve our Savior by serving others, and with a joyful rigor study the Scriptures in order to become more faithful to our calling as disciples of the Lord Jesus.
We are Presbyterians, but the majority of us did not begin in this household of faith, and some of us are new to seriously following the Faith. Together we discover the riches of a living tradition that has sustained many believers throughout the centuries.
As many of you know, I grew up both in a non-denominational and an American Baptist Church (which is now called BeachPoint). I graduated with a M.Div from an inter-denominational multi-ethnic seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary, and worked with several Episcopal Churches as well as a United Methodist Church. This is our first Presbyterian Church, and we are loving every minute of it. I think what spoke to my heart, and my wife’s, is that this is a place that not only wants to bring people to Christ, but also wants to be welcoming to those who are seeking (about 20 homeless sit in church with us, worshiping together—simply awesome!!). We are also excited about the Ladle ministry that is run by Allen, and helps feed 300 homeless each week, as well as connecting them with resources.
We truly feel blessed to be here, and the journey has just begun. Our family just moved into a home in San Marcos about a week ago, and are settling in nicely. We were also able to find renters for our condo that we own in Santa Clarita. God is good!! And the potential for the youth program here is limitless—I’ve only been here a few weeks, and already see the love of Christ shining through the youth both in middle school and in senior high.
I will be now writing on this blog 1 to 2x a week, depending on how busy the week is, but I will be on here more frequently, I promise. I leave you with this from Max Lucado to help put us in the right frame of mind for Christmas:
“It’s Christmas night. In a few hours the cleanup will begin—lights will come down, trees will be thrown out. Size 36 will be exchanged for size 40, eggnog will be on sale for half price. Soon life will be normal again. December’s generosity will become January’s payments and the magic will begin to fade.
But for the moment, the magic is still in the air. Maybe that’s why I’m still awake. I want to savor the spirit just a bit more. I want to pray that those who beheld him today will look for him next August. And I can’t help but linger on one fanciful thought: If he can do so much with such timid prayers lamely offered in December, how much more could he do if we thought of him every day?
Emmanuel. He is with us. God came near.” -Max Lucado
May you and your family have a blessed holiday season!
Grace and Peace,
Peter
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