From @theLutheran magazine: Addition, not subtraction: 10 things your family can add this Lent http://t.co/meq8egCM http://t.co/Skciex29
| 21 March 2011
For so many months it seems I’ve always had at the core of things I’ve written or spoken about is change and challenge at our church. And we enter another period in the months to come where that theme will remain the same. In the coming months we’ll celebrate the ministry of Pastor Carl and say good-bye to him and his family in June. It will be bittersweet time as Pastor Carl will seek new ministries and opportunities in retirement to serve the Lord, and we will miss him here at Grace.
Past that point, we’ll have a period of interim pastoral leadership, during which time we will take a good look at ourselves and our ministry and identify the pastor who will lead us in new and exciting directions. A Call Committee has been established and their first meeting was in March to begin that search. The study guide in The Lutheran highlights the type of thinking that the Call Committee will be doing …1) assessing our vital signs, 2) dreaming about the future, 3) evaluating our tangible and intangible assets (we have many), 4) thinking hard about our mission, 5) thinking about why new members join a church and seeing us we their eyes, and 6) praying, watching and listening for what God wants us to do in this community.
To me this is all very exciting. Yes we’re in another period of change. And is won’t be easy. But there is hope. As Jesus said with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Pray for the Call Committee. If they reach out for your thoughts … please share them. With every challenge there is opportunity … let’s seize it!
Dave Becker
President, Congregational Council
