by Stephen Melton | February 6, 2010
MESSAGE FROM　DR. MELTON　
This Sunday will be my last Sunday preaching for worship. I will be back a couple times to officiate at some weddings, but then I will be absent.
As I look back over these ten years, I am grateful. Yes, there have been times in my life and in our lives together, things were imperfect and broken - not revealing the Kingdom of God as nicely as we would wish - but, regardless, I am grateful. I am grateful because of all the other times when God came near us and left a permanent mark on our souls.
When I was first asked to come to Silver Spring in 1999, I turned down the offer. I felt I needed to stay where I was in Bedford, PA, but God would not let me forget this place. Several months later, I asked if SSPC was still looking for an Associate Pastor. The response I received was, "No, we think you are the one who is being called here to serve." So, I listened to the A.P. Search Committee and I returned.
I want to share a prayer by the Rev. Peter Marshall, the former Presbyterian minister who served as chaplain to the U.S. Senate. His prayer is my closing words.
"The Grateful Heart" by Rev. Peter Marshall
Lord, I pause to look back on the long way Thou hast brought me, on the long days in which I have been served, not according to my deserts, but according to...Thy loving mercies. Let me mediate upon the dark nights through which I have come, the sinister things from which I have been delivered - and have a grateful heart. Let me mediate upon my sins forgiven, for my shame unpublished - and have a grateful heart.
I thank Thee, O Lord, that, in Thy mercy, so many things I feared never came to pass. Fill my heart with thankful praise. Help me to repay in service to others the debt of Thy unmerited benefits and mercies. May the memories of sorrows that disciplined my spirit keep me humble and make me grateful that my God is no celestial Santa Claus but a divine Savior. In His name I offer this sacrifice of praise. Amen.
You may contact me at this address:
Rev. Dr. Stephen Melton
Interim Executive Presbyter
The Presbytery of West Virginia
520 Second Avenue
South CharlestonWV25314
Phone: (304) 744-7634
Fax: (304) 744-7649
Cell: 717-571-6787
