To my church family,
I hope you are all doing well. We have had some unbelievably Spiritual worship services lately and I want to say thank you. Thank you for showing up, I know there are a hundred things on your family calendar, and nothing happens in most families without being intentional. Thank you for your financial generosity. Your contributions have been amazing. I know you have all sorts of uses for your money, thank you for making your donation to this church a big deal. Thank you for being real. I have had more pastorally important conversations in the last month than I can count. People sharing their joys, frustrations, concerns, fears and anxieties- I am humbled that so many feel safe with me to share, I don’t take that privilege lightly. Continue to take of yourselves, use all the tools of mental health, you can’t live the abundant life you were born to live without solid mental health.
When all of you come forward for communion, that is my favorite part of the worship service. It is so wonderful to see people come together. I know we don’t agree with each other on things big and small, but the church can show the world that by staying together in hard times, God can really shine.
We are setting off on a Lenten voyage and you should join us. Sunday mornings at 9am we have had a regular Bible study. During Lent we will shift our focus to read and ponder Joan S Gray’s Sailboat Church: Helping Your Church Rethink its Mission and Practice. Grey compares churches to the metaphors of a sailboat and a rowboat. Both kinds of boats can get across the lake, but with one you are in tune with God, sharing the windy resources and in the other you bash through the waves under your power. We will consider how well we are sailing with God, or rowing with our limited strength. I think it will foster some great conversations.
As we begin our voyage of Lent, I pray that this time for you is one of spiritual reconnection. Give God some more space in your lives. This may mean picking some time to spend in prayer each day, meditation, Scripture reading and diving into the Sailboat Church book. Let’s look and listen for God together.
See You Sunday, Pastor Dave
