Whether you are new to the area or are looking for a new place to worship – we welcome you!

At Valley Church, you will find a vibrant expression of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a place for you to grow in your faith.  We invite you to join us for a Sunday service!

Community Meal

March 4, 2026

“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce… seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you.” (Jeremiah 29:5–7)

Members and Friends of Valley,

Most of us have friends and loved ones who live in, work in, or travel to places around the world. We are part of an international world – borders no longer contain us. And there is so much to be gained from this: learning about different cultures, languages, and belief systems. Opportunities that abound for business, arts exchanges, and communication. I know and appreciate the valuable experiences and perspectives I have gained from opportunities to travel abroad.

In even the oldest portions of scripture, people crossed borders into foreign lands. They faced choices of how to offer and receive welcome, whether to build houses and plant gardens and intermarry, and to what extent they would retain their previous identity and integrate into their new community.

Now – as has happened so often through history – we are at war. Congress will meet today to finally discuss an official authorization of what is already reality: Iraq and more than a dozen surrounding nations have been and / or are under threat of bombardments. We know schools and hospitals have been destroyed, that hundreds are dead and many others displaced. Thousands of American visitors, workers, and ex-patriots are stuck or stranded in harm’s way.

In the midst of war, we pray for peace and protection, but we, also, must admit that it reveals existing fissures in the welfare of our communities: local, national, and international. It shows how communication is broken, power is misused, and human life is devalued. War is, in the true biblical sense of the word, an “apocalypse” – an unveiling or uncovering. As Cameron Trimble puts it, “War does not create moral disorder. War reveals it.”

This season of Lent – of which we are now in the midst – is a time to look more closely at those things in our lives that require unveiling and upon those relationships that need ordering. Is there, if we think back to this passage from Jeremiah, something we need to plant, to build, to learn, or welcome anew? Might there be a way to improve the welfare of some personal endeavor or local issue?

Yesterday, a group of Valley’s leaders met with county and state representatives about a grant that would cover the cost of tying into city water, rather than using a well. They explained how, for some reason they do not yet fully understand, the Geauga County aquafer has a high level of PFAS (micro-plastics). This gift of cleaner water would, therefore, be of great benefit for our members, preschool children, community meal recipients, and any other groups using the church.

Each of us, also, has some way that we could benefit the land and world around us. We could pay more attention to the plastics we consume and dispose of. We might commit to donating the equivalent of one meal a week to a local food bank. We can support local immigrants, or members of the military, or people we know who live abroad. We could learn a second language and find someone with whom we could practice.

In these or so many other ways, God is calling us to build and plant; to help create community rather than moral disorder. We follow a Prince of Peace, not a God of War. May this be our prayer and practice.

In Christ,
Pastor John

Lenten resource links:

https://justiceunbound.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Lent-PDF-Final.pdf

https://pcusa.org/resource/lent-home-family-devotional

https://pcusa.org/resource/tread-lightly-lent-lent-calendar

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