These letters reflect a pastor’s heart for his church family as well as his thoughts as he leads that church through times of great change. Jim McCormack wrote monthly as part of the church newsletter from April 1992 to June 2009. The newly formed church had relocated. Some people had left. New ones were arriving. There was concern over the best use of funds and the best ways to worship. And there were mission trips, both globally and locally. Jim shares the joys and tragedies of the congregation—baptisms, illnesses, deaths, even a murder. And as his retirement approaches, he reflects on his own life—the death of parents, children leaving the nest, the births of grandchildren. These letters paint a picture of what was going on in the 90s and early 2000s in the world, the country, the mission field and the church as well as in the day-to-day lives of Jim and his church members. You will find in this book a steadfast commitment—to love the people of God, to bring new people to Christ and to bring salt and light to a world in need of God. – Pam O’Brien, former parishioner, Church of the Cross