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June 2008
FROM THE PASTOR
Dear Friends,
Virtually every spiritual tradition teaches the wisdom of letting go. Of not trying to impose one's will on life. Of not trying to control outcomes.
In Christianity, we usually refer to this as “leaving room for the Spirit.” We trust that if our intentions, purposes and efforts are good that the Spirit will act. In the United Church of Christ, we say that “God is still speaking,” – purposefully leaving the comma as a marker for the work of the Holy Spirit.
Since this is the last Beacon of this year, I'd like to take a look at how the Spirit has been moving in our congregation.
At the very beginning of this year, I indicated that I wouldn't be leading the stewardship effort in the fall. The stewardship “hot potato” rolled around on the floor for a couple of months. Then, at a joint meeting of the Trustees and Church Council in October, a decision was made to use simply a letter and three testimonial moments in October.
Remarkably, the Spirit was with us on this rather risky decision. Without all the brochures and slogans and appeals for money, pledges virtually matched the previous years.
In the middle of this year, at Annual Meeting, I pointed out that our building was our most valuable revenue-producing asset. Again, the Spirit was with us here. At least two (one of them major) opportunities came our way in short order. They were skillfully shepherded by Josh Alexander and the Trustees, and we will be better stewards of our property as a result.
All through this year, if you have followed the continuing saga of our Junior High Youth on pictorial display outside the church office, you would have seen the Spirit operating there. These are good kids getting the greatest gift a church can possibly offer – adults modeling Christian behavior.
At the beginning of this year, we embarked on a journey with a seminarian, Lisa Rizoli . Again, what a Spirit-filled occasion! Lisa not only brought a new perspective to our prayer and pulpit, we will have her back next year – not just seminarian, but also as interim pastor while I am on sabbatical March through June.
Now, going ahead, as a grateful people, I would like you to consider the following for next year.
We have not done a good job at blending tradition with relevance. Over the course of this year, many times I have received calls from people who are interested in our church. After attending a few times, I don't see them again. When I follow up, the usual remark is: “The service was boring.”
If you were to have the same perspective as I do from the pulpit, you would see that we have two congregations. I do not say this to be dramatic: simply look around during Sunday morning, and the conclusion is inescapable. And where attrition takes place is in the younger ranks.
Systems theory tells us that the vast majority of organizations do not change until a crisis is present. We are not in a financial crisis, so there is little or no incentive to change.
But what about spiritually? Are we in crisis there?
In the sermons I have preached lately, I have proposed several major changes in worship. I am disappointed to say I received virtually no response. Not good or bad. Should we be doing communion on a more regular basis if, in fact, the Lord's Supper is the central symbol of our Christian community? Is there a better way to configure the sanctuary so that we are worshipping as a group rather than little pockets scattered throughout the sanctuary? How do we do mission in a time when attending church falls way below Lacrosse practice in priority?
Now these questions may have no immediately apparent answer. That does not mean that we shouldn't be working on them.
You see, I believe the Holy Spirit meets us half-way. We need to take the initiative on revitalizing ourselves. And if we do, we will find the Spirit there, ready to fill our sails with the breath of God.
Think about it. I will be.
Peace,
Pastor John
