There are moments in the life of a church where you can actually see the Kingdom of God stretching across generations.
This is one of those moments.
Because the truth is, none of this, none of what we are experiencing today, started this morning. It didn’t start with our sunrise service. It didn’t start with breakfast. It didn’t even start with us.
It started long before, in quiet acts of faithfulness. In prayers that no one else heard. In service that didn’t make headlines. In people who simply said yes to God, over and over again.
Today we remember Hector and Alice Azzaro. Their lives were poured out in this place. They didn’t just attend church- they helped shape what we have by pouring their lives out in ministry, they loved it, they served so incredibly well. They planted seeds of faith, of hospitality, of perseverance.
And here is the holy truth: When seeds are planted in the Kingdom of God, they don’t stop growing just because we can no longer see the ones who planted them. Seeds are often found quietly packed into the earth with love and care waiting for and anticipating that the roots will take place. They grow. They bear fruit in future seasons.
And sometimes, we get the gift of seeing that fruit.
We see it in the life of this church.
We see it through ministries like O.N.E.(Outreach Neighborhood Engagement), reaching into our community in ways that matter. And today, we see it in a very personal and powerful way.
Because out of a legacy of faithfulness… out of seeds planted by people like Hector and Alice…
God is still calling, still stirring, still raising up new life. And this morning after we present these certificates we will also present something else that is special… we will present a local minister’s license to Joe.
And I want to be clear about what that means. This is not a title. This is not a finish line. And we’re not suddenly calling him “Pastor Joe.”
This is something much more sacred than that. A local minister’s license in the Church of the Nazarene is recognizing that God may be stirring something in someone’s life. It is the beginning of a journey of discernment, of discovering gifts, of testing a call, of being formed in community.
It is the Church saying: “We see something in you. We believe God may be at work. And we are going to walk with you as you figure out what that means.”
And that… that doesn’t happen in a vacuum. That kind of calling grows in soil that has already been tended. It grows in a church where people have loved well, served faithfully, and made space for others to encounter God.
Which brings us right back to why we pause today.
Because before we celebrate what is beginning… We will honor those who helped make it possible. Today, we have the honor of remembering and recognizing two lives that helped shape this church in ways we are still living into today.
Hector and Alice Azzaro were not just part of this congregation, they were part of its heartbeat.
They served, they showed up, they gave of themselves in ways that built a foundation for others to stand on. In the Church of the Nazarene, the Memorial Roll is a way of honoring those who have gone before us in faith. It is not just a remembrance of death, it is a recognition of a life lived in Christ, and a witness that continues beyond them.
Today, we recognize Hector and Alice as part of that great cloud of witnesses who have loved this church into being what it is today.
Lynne, Kristin, and Steven, on behalf of this church, we thank you.
Thank you for sharing Hector and Alice with us. Thank you for the ways their lives continue to bear fruit here.
And thank you for being here today to remember and honor them with us. We hold them in gratitude. We entrust them fully into the love and presence of God. And we carry forward the legacy they helped plant.
