Weekly message
from Fr. Chris

Dear Saint Paul the Apostle Family,
It is with a mixture of profound gratitude and a heavy heart that I write this, my final letter to you as your pastor. Serving this congregation has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.
It has been said that life is a series of new beginnings. Indeed, our God is continuously calling us to follow into paths unknown, giving us wisdom and strength for every challenge, and often surprising us with unexpected delight.

In 2019, I was called to a new beginning as your Pastor. In these years, we have grown together in our understanding of who God is, who we are as a church, and what we are being called to be and to do as God’s people. We have faced transitions with resiliency; we have prayed together for the Spirit to lead us; we have rejoiced and wept as one as we experienced both triumph and heartache in our lives and in our community and world. What an honor it is to be a part of this faithful, generous, active, and dedicated congregation!
Over the past seven years, we have shared so much together – joyous celebrations, the heavy burdens of grief, significant milestones, and the quiet, daily transformations of faith. I have watched your families grow, your resilience shine through adversity, and your commitment to this community deepen. Thank you for welcoming me into your lives, allowing me to walk alongside you, and teaching me so much about how to be your pastor.

While endings can be difficult, I am comforted knowing that my departure is an opportunity for new beginnings. As you transition to a new chapter, I humbly ask that you welcome Fr. Andrew Wawrzyn with open hearts and the same warmth you have always shown me. Please continue to support him with your prayers, just as I will be praying for this church in the seasons to come.
I will miss the privilege of walking, praying, and worshipping with you through the many new beginnings in your lives; I will miss the joy of being part of St. Paul the Apostle Church in the years ahead. And yet, I am excited about the opportunity to be attuned to the many other ways God is calling me to be present in the lives of my new parish, St. Anne in Barrington, and in the wider Church of Jesus Christ.
It has been my deepest honor to have served as priest of four different congregations over more than nineteen years of ministry. In these years, our world and the Church have changed. Through it all, Christ’s power and grace have sustained us, for we serve a God who will not let us go.
In the past seven years of ministry with SPA, I have been so very blessed to work alongside wonderful priests, deacons, committed staff, parish leaders, and parishioners who desire above all else to serve God with energy, enthusiasm, and grace. I will treasure each one of you in my heart forever, and I will always cherish the memories of our times together.

I am so very thankful for these years spent in ministry together with you, and I know that God will continue to bless you abundantly in the years ahead.
These are my final days with you, but I look forward as much as I can to worshipping with you, enjoying fellowship, and celebrating the wonderful future God has in store for SPA.
“I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right that I should think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, you who are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God”. — St. Paul wrote to the Philippians; 1:3-10
May the peace of the Lord be with you always.
With deepest love and blessings, Fr. Krzysztof (Chris) D. Ciastoń