Pastor's Life: Breath

The breath of God and breath of life by Rev. Erin Hayes-Cook Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (The Message) Look at what I’ve done for you today: I’ve placed in front of you     Life and Good     Death and Evil. And I command you today: Love God, your God. Walk in the Lord’s ways. Keep God’s commandments, regulations, and rules so that you will live, really live, live exuberantly, blessed by God, your God, in the land you are about to enter and possess. But I warn you: If you have a change of heart, refuse to listen obediently, and willfully go off to serve and worship other gods, you will most certainly die. You won’t last long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, our God, listening obediently to God, firmly embracing God. Oh yes, God is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We’ve spent the last two years afraid to breathe on each other, with good reason. COVID-19 has changed how we minister, serve and live. The Old Testament teaches us that our breath is the divine life inside of us. Our lives have been altered in ways that are still unfurling. Resilience has beckoned to us again and again over these past years to dig deep and find the breath of life within us.

Rev. Erin Hayes-Cook recently accepted a call to serve as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hackettstown, N.J. She previously served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Rahway, NJ, from 2013 to 2022. She has gained great joy in walking alongside the diverse communities she serves through her local presbytery and synod. She is looking forward to studying for a Certificate in Executive Leadership from Duke Divinity School. Rev. Hayes-Cook and her husband Lawrence welcomed their first child, a daughter, in June 2019.

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