From The Pastor's Desk
In a little less than 24 hours I will be on a plane bound for Palm Springs, CA. After spending a few days there Catherine McCornack and I will make our way into Arizona for a train ride to the Grand Canyon where we will stay for a few days before venturing to Sedona! I am having trouble waiting! After all I have already waited 54 years! In 1958, I wrote a paper on the formation of the Grand Canyon for my 8th grade geography class. I have wanted to visit there ever since. I did get close a few times but something always came up. I have had lots of other interesting trips in between (Scotland, Switzerland, Brazil, Israel twice, New Mexico to name a few) but this trip has been on my “bucket list” for a looooong time.
There are several dangers in waiting so long for a highly anticipated trip. First, one can become so focused on the future happening itself that she forgets to enjoy much less fully appreciate the events, the trips that are happening in the meanwhile. I don’t think I have done that but I can remember saying, “Wow! This is wonderful! I wonder how it compares to majestic panorama of the Grand Canyon.” The second danger is to make the anticipation of the upcoming event so huge that the unfolding could never live up to its reality. Even as I prepare to pack the last few items in my suitcase I am concerned that I have done that!
I wonder if in someway we have done that with the unfolding of this New Beginning Process we are in the middle of. First off, I know that some of us have been waiting a long time to take a long hard look at our church and the way we live into our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ. At times we seem so focused on the outcome, the magic answers which we hope we will find at the end of journey, we forget to see God’s blessings as the process unfolds in the in between times.
What are some of those blessings, you might ask? These are a few. First, there is the training our church leaders received. Each of them will be a better leader in the future because of this training. Second, we have had lots and lots of conversations as we worked the process. It is always good for God’s people to intentionally find time to be in conversation with God and with one another. Third, we have had the opportunity to celebrate who we are as a church and to give God thanks for the blessings which have been poured down upon us and out into our community and neighborhoods through us. Fourth, we have learned that we do not always agree and that is okay. We have had the chance to see how others live out their faith and while their passion and interest may not be ours, we have begun to recognize theirs and again give God thanks for the other. I pray that we will continue to look for the blessings as they unfold and not be quite so focused on the outcome itself.
That is the second danger. Some of us, me included, are filled with anticipation. At our officers’ retreat last weekend many of us prayed that it would be a success. We need to stop that! I need to keep reminding myself and all of you it will be a success if it unfolds as God wants it to unfold. In other words, it will be a success if we are faithful to the process. That word brings me to one of the three word mantras that one of our elders often uses: God calls us to “Faithful, Steadfast and Constant.” Will God look at us both during and the end of this unfolding and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have indeed been faithful, steadfast and constant” in all you have said and done. I pray it is so even as I pray that we will be patient with ourselves, each other and with God in this unfolding.
Blessings,
Rev. Pat
There are several dangers in waiting so long for a highly anticipated trip. First, one can become so focused on the future happening itself that she forgets to enjoy much less fully appreciate the events, the trips that are happening in the meanwhile. I don’t think I have done that but I can remember saying, “Wow! This is wonderful! I wonder how it compares to majestic panorama of the Grand Canyon.” The second danger is to make the anticipation of the upcoming event so huge that the unfolding could never live up to its reality. Even as I prepare to pack the last few items in my suitcase I am concerned that I have done that!
I wonder if in someway we have done that with the unfolding of this New Beginning Process we are in the middle of. First off, I know that some of us have been waiting a long time to take a long hard look at our church and the way we live into our calling as disciples of Jesus Christ. At times we seem so focused on the outcome, the magic answers which we hope we will find at the end of journey, we forget to see God’s blessings as the process unfolds in the in between times.
What are some of those blessings, you might ask? These are a few. First, there is the training our church leaders received. Each of them will be a better leader in the future because of this training. Second, we have had lots and lots of conversations as we worked the process. It is always good for God’s people to intentionally find time to be in conversation with God and with one another. Third, we have had the opportunity to celebrate who we are as a church and to give God thanks for the blessings which have been poured down upon us and out into our community and neighborhoods through us. Fourth, we have learned that we do not always agree and that is okay. We have had the chance to see how others live out their faith and while their passion and interest may not be ours, we have begun to recognize theirs and again give God thanks for the other. I pray that we will continue to look for the blessings as they unfold and not be quite so focused on the outcome itself.
That is the second danger. Some of us, me included, are filled with anticipation. At our officers’ retreat last weekend many of us prayed that it would be a success. We need to stop that! I need to keep reminding myself and all of you it will be a success if it unfolds as God wants it to unfold. In other words, it will be a success if we are faithful to the process. That word brings me to one of the three word mantras that one of our elders often uses: God calls us to “Faithful, Steadfast and Constant.” Will God look at us both during and the end of this unfolding and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have indeed been faithful, steadfast and constant” in all you have said and done. I pray it is so even as I pray that we will be patient with ourselves, each other and with God in this unfolding.
Blessings,
Rev. Pat
