Notes from Pastor Joy

March 2024

Dear Friends in Christ,

Before we know it, Holy Week and Easter will be here. As we walk with Jesus through Holy Week, we look back to a particular place and time in history and recall how God acted in an extraordinary way for our sake and for the sake of the whole world. However, the glorious thing about the events of Holy Week and Easter is that though they are events that took place in the past, they have power and meaning in our lives day by day in the present. 

Jesus’s death gives us hope in the present for the forgiveness of our sins and his resurrection is a true comfort in the present as we wrestle with our own mortality and the pain and grief that fill us when loved ones die, but the cross and the resurrection give us hope in the present that encompasses much more than relief from shame and guilt and courage in the face of death. 

As we consider the suffering, and injustice, and brokenness that we witness daily in our world, it is Easter that gives us assurance that things won’t always be this way. When we witness and participate in peace-making efforts, and justice work, and works of mercy that alleviate suffering, we are seeing Easter before our eyes. When a relationship with a friend or family member is broken and damaged, Easter gives us assurance that the lost relationship can be restored and redeemed. When the relationship is made new, we have witnessed Easter again.       

The cross and the resurrection are the sure signs to us that God was not, and is not, and will not be overcome by the powers of darkness and evil in whatever forms we encounter them. If we are looking, we will see this victory on display again and again in our lives and in the world. As we prepare to remember and celebrate this special time in history, look back, but remember, also, to look right under your nose for resurrection!

Happy Easter! 

Pastor Joy

P.S. Our wedding date is April 11! We will be getting married at Riverdale Inn in Riverside with Rev. Ron Watson, former minister at First Presbyterian Ocala, officiating. We look forward to celebrating with you at a church reception that is being planned for the end of April. Thank you for all of the love and best wishes! 

Dear Lakewood Family,

The angels’ proclamation on the night of Jesus’ birth was in direct opposition to the proclamation of Rome at the time. In Scot McKnight’s book, The Real Mary he says, “The gospel story out of Rome was this: Caesar Augustus, son of god [aka his father Julius Caesar], our savior, has brought peace to the whole world. The gospel that the angels announced to Mary and to the shepherds was the good news that Jesus, the Son of God, was the Savior. That could only mean one thing: Caesar Augustus was not.”

God has always had competition - people, and powers, and egos telling us that God is really quite insufficient and certainly unnecessary.  The packaging that God’s competitors use is always nice, but when we look around at the world – looking for peace, looking for wholeness, looking for love – I believe that we find that the competition hasn’t really delivered as promised. 

This season as we read the story in the Scriptures, as we hear it proclaimed in song, as we see it dramatized in plays and pageants, the proclamation is as bold and clear as it was the night that the angels first proclaimed it: Jesus, the Son of God, is the Savior of the world. That can only mean one thing: rulers and politicians, money, human goodness, psychology, science, and religion are not.

This is a season of rejoicing as our faith is renewed in God’s provision for His people and a world in need. It is a season for doing away with allegiances to false saviors and renewing our allegiance to the one who really is the Savior. It is a season of commitment to doing the work of the King and the Kingdom that opposes the kingdoms of this world.  It is a season of hope as we place our trust in God. 

May the season of Advent and your Christmas celebrations be filled with blessings and joy.

In Christ’s love,
Pastor Joy 

August 2023

Dear Lakewood Family,

As summer time begins to wind down, I feel a great sense of gratitude for the many evidences of God’s faithfulness and the Spirit’s movement in our midst as we seek to follow Jesus and share in his ministry. One of the things that our Lakewood Vision ministry asked you to do at the beginning of the summer was to complete a survey. The fact that we had over 90% participation was phenomenal and shows how truly invested the members of LPC are in our shared ministry. 

In August, we will be moving into the next phase of the Hope and a Future project which will involve opportunities to reflect on and discuss the elements of vital ministries and congregations. A 7-week sermon series will begin on August 13. Each week following worship, there will be a class in Benz Hall. During the class we will have a chance to go deeper into the week’s topic and time for discussion. The same class will also be offered on Monday evenings with the option to participate by Zoom. By offering options, we hope that more people will be able to participate.  The classes will be taught by different members of the Lakewood Vision Team each week.

Jesus is most certainly alive with us and the Spirit is most certainly moving among us. The goal of this process is that we would intentionally give our attention and our hearts to Jesus as we seek to be aligned with him and his purpose for our church at this time in our lives. I’m so grateful for your participation so far and look forward to the learning, and discussing, and dreaming that we will be doing together soon. 

Peace be with you,

Pastor Joy

July 2023

Dear Lakewood Family,

During the month of July, we will be doing a summer series based on the theme “Here I am, Lord.” The hymn is a favorite in Protestant denominations, but it was written by Dan Schutte who was a Jesuit studying theology in 1979. A friend asked him to write a hymn for a deacon’s ordination Mass. The lyrics recall the words of biblical prophets who were called by God and said yes, even if they did also express their doubts and fears. 

God still calls to us today, and we may have our own doubts and fears when we hear God’s call. Even so, God invites us to be his witnesses, to share his love, and to be instruments of healing and grace for those who need it. Even if we feel unqualified or afraid, it is God’s choice to use us, and the Holy Spirit gives us power to do what God calls us to do. In our sermon series, we will consider a variety of people from Scripture who heard God’s call, and we will learn lessons from their stories that will challenge and encourage us as we say yes to God’s call. 

Many of the services will include drama, and each week we will collect a special canned food offering for UCOM. Please bring CANNED PASTA and help us reach (or surpass) our goal of 500 cans. I look forward to seeing you in worship in July!

In Christ’s love,
Pastor Joy

June 2023

Dear Lakewood Family,

As you know, this month you will be invited to participate in a congregational survey. We do want your feedback and collecting data is a part of this process, but I want to emphasize that the goal of the Lakewood Vision team is not to lead us through a scientific process but a spiritual one. Paul once wrote to Timothy saying, “I urge you to fan into flame the gift of God…” There is plenty of heat, and warmth, and light here at Lakewood. Now, imagine a big breath blowing over those burning red embers into big fiery flames. That’s what we want the Holy Spirit to do- to blow over us with a big fresh breath that fans the gifts and goodness in this congregation into a fire of love and ministry that can’t be contained. The summer Services of Renewal have been planned as a place where we can gather to intentionally ask for and receive fresh breath from the Holy Spirit that will fan into flame the gifts of God.  The first one will be held on the last Sunday of June, June 25 at 4:30 pm. Please come and join us in this time set apart for worship, prayer, and communion. I am curious and excited to see how we will experience Jesus’s presence with us in these times, and I hope you will come with curious and expectant hearts, too. 

Have a wonderful summer!

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Joy 

May 2023

Dear Lakewood Family,

Weekly worship is one of my very favorite things about our life together at LPC. It is one of the most visible aspects of church life, but there are always lots of things happening behind the scenes and under the surface to keep things going and keep us moving forward as a church. This month I’d like to let you know about some of those things.

Campus Security- Following the recent shooting at the church school in Nashville, a committee made up of elders and preschool representatives has begun meeting to review options and to make recommendations to the Session about things that can be done to help make our campus safer during the school week and on Sundays. A JSO officer visited our campus and did a risk assessment. The Session has already approved an upgrade to the glass on the doors to the Education Building to make them bullet and shatter resistant, and LPP will be paying for this upgrade. 

Kitchen and Nursery – During the last year we have resumed many fellowship and worship activities. As the kitchen is the heart of the home, the church kitchen is often at the heart of fellowship here. A meeting was help with several people who help in the kitchen in various ways, and Lenora Wilson has agreed to become our Kitchen Coordinator to help keep all things running smoothly.  Lenora has also been working closely with our new nursery attendant, Kenya Brantley, to ensure that the nursery is open and available for church activities. Kitchen and nursery ministries are an important part of the ministry of hospitality, and Lenora’s efforts to strengthen these ministries are much appreciated. If you are drawn to hospitality ministry in the kitchen, or nursery, or elsewhere, we welcome your help!

Building and Grounds – You may have noticed that the giant pothole at the entrance to the East parking lot was recently patched. A portion of the fence that was falling down behind the youth hut was also recently replaced. We are in the process of getting the air conditioning in the church van repaired. An AC unit in the Education Building was recently replaced. There is a significant issue with some of the pipes in the Education building that has resulted in plumbing failures in the bathrooms that will need to be addressed soon. The sanctuary windows remain unfinished, but we have been given the word that our contractor hopes to resume the work any day now. Tom Vermilya (Building and Grounds ministry) and Norm St. Germaine have kept on top of these projects. Our campus needs lots of TLC, and we need your ongoing support financially and your gifts of time to maintain and improve our campus.

Music- Carl continues to strive to build on and to build up our music ministry. I have heard lots of positive feedback about how wonderful the choir has been sounding.  Melissa Caceras has enthusiastically accepted the position as our Soprano section leader.  If you love the quality of the music that you have been hearing, remember that it is your tithes and gifts that make it possible to grow and expand our music ministry. 

These are just a few things that are happening behind the scenes and around the campus. Thank you for being part of the ministry of this church in whatever ways you contribute. If you ever have questions about what is happening, please reach out to me or your elders. 

May you continue to celebrate and experience Easter joy,

Pastor Joy

April 2023

Dear Lakewood Family,

As April begins and we prepare for our Easter celebration, I’d like to take the opportunity to celebrate the wonderful people that serve on our LPC staff. Every single member of LPC is important and your gifts and participation are vital to the success of our church’s ministry. Church staff are not here to replace you, but they do so much to assist with the day to day operations that help keep things going. In no particular order, I’d like to express my appreciation for each member of our staff.

I celebrate Libby Tullis, our Office Administrator, who is on top of managing communications and has helped introduce more efficient ways to do things. She has updated the look of print and electronic materials and has helped us become more of a 21^st century office in many ways.

I celebrate Norm St. Germaine, our Facilities Coordinator, who works to keep our campus safe and clean and is skilled in performing maintenance tasks that keep things in working order. He is ready to help when asked and will get the job done.

I celebrate Lisa Lee, our new Bookkeeper. Lisa brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this role and is already leading us in improving our efforts to track and manage our finances with greater accuracy, transparency, and accountability. 

I celebrate Robyn Ossi, our LPP Director. Robyn has helped build our preschool in numbers and in reputation in our community. Under her leadership, the school has never had any DCF violations, and she is vigilant in her efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of the students and staff. 

I celebrate Carl Marucci, our Music Director and Organist. Carl loves to make beautiful music for the glory of God, and he has the talent and the heart to do it. He is a leader with vision, and he regularly challenges and invites us to try new things that will enhance our musical offerings to the Lord. 

I celebrate Brian Mitchell, our Director of Youth and Christian Education, who is skilled in developing relationships with our youth and always reminds us that they are not the future of the church but valuable and contributing members already. Brian brings joy and life to our worship when he preaches and speaks with the children.

More could be said and celebrated about each of these people, but I am grateful for them and to them, and I know that Lakewood is better because they choose to use their gifts in service to Christ here. 

I hope that you will join me in celebrating these staff members with your own words of encouragement and affirmation and regularly keep them in your prayers.

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Joy

March 2023

Dear Lakewood Family,

This morning I have been looking ahead at the calendar to all of the events that we have planned for Holy Week and Easter this year. There are a lot! I’m grateful that we have an active church and for the many hands that help make these various activities and worship opportunities possible. I hope that many of you will participate both as helpers and as worshippers and that your spiritual lives will be enriched as a result. As we approach Holy Week, I encourage you to include friends, neighbors, and family members in your prayers and I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit for opportunities to extend an invitation to those people to come and join in on one or some of the activities and services that will be taking place at LPC. You’re invitation could be life-changing for someone. Consider this. I recently heard someone say that people who don’t consider themselves “religious” and aren’t connected to the church, drive by church buildings and view them in the same way I view buildings like VFW. 
“I’m not a Veteran, so that place isn’t for me.” Your invitation can let someone know that whether they are “religious” or not, the church is for them, too. The church is a place of belonging for anyone and Jesus has sent us to share that good news with others. What better time to do that than now, as we prepare to celebrate the greatest news of all?

May God bless you and lead you through Lent to the joyful celebration of Easter Sunday.

In Christ’s love,
Pastor Joy

February 2023

In February our sermon series will be called A Heart Like Jesus, and we’ll be talking about transformation. Transformation is the goal of our spiritual journey in Christ (Romans 8:29). Jesus meets us right where we are and offers to set us free from habits and behaviors that lead to death and gives us his life and the power to become like him (Romans 6:22-23). In the midst of daily challenges, and routines, and activities, we may not always remember that the one who began a good work within us is working to bring that work to completion (Philippians 1:6), but it’s true. In every situation and circumstance there is an opportunity to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and when we do, we are changed. Every time we say “yes” to the influence of the Spirit, we become a little more like Jesus (Galatians 5:22-26)  Transformation is not always an easy process, and not all transformations are good, but the transformation that Jesus is working out within us is a good one. We are all works in progress, and we need to give and receive grace as we are changing and being changed. 

In Christ's love,

Pastor Joy

January 2023

Dear Lakewood Family,

I always think the beginning of a new year is an exciting time. 365 unblemished days ahead full of potential and opportunity! As a church, we had a strong ending to 2022 with new members joining, new staff added, in the black financially, and two special and well-attended Christmas Eve services. As we begin the new year, I am excited about building on this momentum and focusing on some strategic thinking and planning that will help us to keep moving forward in ministry and mission.



The new year is also a time when we think about our personal goals for growth, and I heard something on a leadership podcast that was helpful to me and may be helpful to you. As we think about what we want to do in the new year in terms of goals, the suggestion was to start with the question “who do I want to become?” and let the answer to that question drive the answers you come up with to the question “what do I want do” or “what goals do I want to set for myself in the new year?” Maybe you want to be a person who is healthier, or a person who has a stronger relationship with God, or a person who is more generous. When you answer your question about who you want to become, the next step is to add one small discipline that will help you become that person. Sometimes we feel like we have to make big sweeping changes, but lasting and meaningful transformation often happens with one small change at a time.  If you want to be healthier, your small change could be cutting out sugary drinks. If you want to be a person who has a deeper relationship with God, you might commit to reading and mediating on one verse of Scripture every day. If you want to be a generous person, you might commit to setting aside $10 a month to put toward a special need or to give as a blessing to someone. Think about who you want to become and then add one small doable thing and commit to doing it.  If you are consistent, you will begin to change. 

May God bless you richly in 2023 and may we remember that every blessing that is ours is a gift that enables us to be a blessing to others in Jesus’s name. Happy New Year!

In Christ’s love,
Pastor Joy