Thank You Normandie!

This past Sunday night was the last time I will be at Normandie Church of Christ for a while. After being a minister at the church the last four years Des and I will no longer attend Normandie. It has been a wonderful four years filled with excitement and disappointment, joy and sadness, and much growth spiritually.

Thank you for all you have given me Normandie. It has been my honor to serve in the same pulpit as the visionary Carroll Pitts once did. It has been humbling to speak to the you the Sundays after Barack Obama was elected and inaugurated and to share in history and your celebration in that way. Thank you for the willingness to listen to me, a young white/Korean guy (with all the racial tension that exists between black/white and black/Korean in L.A.), Sunday after Sunday and providing the space to grow into the preacher I’ve become. Thank you for the joy of seeing you dream of and then grow an exciting and thriving ministry to the thousands of homeless in L.A. Thank you for your willingness to be stretched and challenged by me in your faith and ministry. Thank you for partnering with me in my service to the “least of these” around the world. And thank you for all of the kind words, free meals and prayers for Des and I.

Normandie, you have taught me how to love and be loving, and inspired me with your faith and perseverance in prayer. I hope you know I have learned as much from you as I hope you have learned from me. It has been my pleasure to share life with you, with all of the ups and downs that have happened at Normandie over these last four years. It has not been a cake walk, and we have had our tense moments, but I am eternally grateful for my time with you.

Thank you for all you have done for me and my wife. You will always have a place in our hearts. Grace and peace.