You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but do not be alarmed…the end is yet to come.
Matthew 24:6
Dear Friends in Christ,
What a world. What a year. But to cite two popular phrases, it gets better, and, the best is yet to come. Or so says Christianity.
A part of our faith is completely rooted in the bad news of our world. Injury, injustice, and even the devil show up in our three-millennia story. We are honest about history and reality. But we claim that something More is real, too — that something More is part of our history: that the wars and rumors and gossip (that’s in Paul) and horror (like what Herod did after Jesus was born) don’t define us but vivify us hear God’s call and work together.
I am inspired by how a classful of Confirmands and a line of folks with orange umbrellas doubled their goal to support homeless families in metro-west one Sunday. Thank you.
I am inspired by the energy that we had in the room on Easter Sunday. By the attendance of new conversation partners in our after-hour discussions of “wrestling with God” during Lent. By the brand new discussion about making our out of doors more welcoming and even ecologically sound (less grass, more access). Thank you.
For the first time in two to three years (remember Covid? Well, it’s still around…) we have a settled staff and access to worship in-person and online. We have great lay leaders, and a meeting in June to discuss visions. By the fall we will have sold our parsonage, as a relief to our caretakers and a benefit to our endowment and program.
So, the end is not here. And if it gets better, with the best yet to come, what shall we do now? Who shall we be now?
In a Congregational church the answer comes from the Holy Spirit through the people. Jesus said to his disciples, “You give them something to eat.” So what shall we feed?
Here are three steps toward that answer:
If you are not on a committee such as Deacons or Missions, please consider joining. We need everyone’s measure of the Holy Spirit. The new committees form in September.
When you are asked to help with a pledge to support our mission and ministry starting in July 2024, please participate. That full staff and full program mean we need full blessings from everyone!
If you would be interested in joining a Bible study sometime this summer, if you would like to participate in a conversation/study of world religions designed but not yet scheduled, let us know. If you can sing in choir even once a month — especially if we do something more accessible once a month — please tell our Music Director, Jan Zimmerman. If you are reading this and considering membership, baptism, hands-on mission, or something else I haven’t mentioned, let us know. We grow, serve, evolve, and find how it gets better by speaking, praying, listening, and serving together. The Body of Christ is a wonderful phrase and in practice means us, together.
As often as we need, we’ll name, examine, and address the horrors and rumors of real life. Yet we won’t do this alone; we’ll do it together and we’ll do it with God and the Holy Spirit. For me, I know about those two through Jesus, so even in our by-laws he is called the head of the Church. But for many there is another faithful word I’ve used many times: More, with a capital “M.” This is the God who is even more than we can know and tell through all we know and tell. This is the God of Jesus, and this God is the reason that the best is yet to come.
There is a great deal going on in May, so I pray to see you in church.
Peace,
