From The Pastor - Sept/Oct Spire

"Where do you Fall?"

As you read through this and every Spire you will see and hopefully celebrate the many ways we are the Church. The opportunities for fellowship, the sharing of our joys and concerns, the sense of excitement about a new program year, our commitment to ministries of mission and social justice along with our increasingly active youth program all affirm this. Even the struggles that we address remind us that we are truly a community. As part of a community we are called to hold one another up in prayer as we seek to be welcoming, inclusive, honest, responsible and accountable.

I have always believed it is important to provide as many opportunities as possible for people to connect with their Church, both in the type of events that we offer, and the leadership we seek. The more opportunities people have to share and utilize their gifts, the more the community is en-riched and energized. I fully recognize that one of the dynamics within organizations, including churches, is that a small minority wind up as-suming the majority of the responsibility. The old adage is that "twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the work".

The reasons for this vary. Not least among them is that some, for whatever reason, are not as in-vested as others. Outside interests, concerns and responsibilities can cause people to pull back, or not be as involved as they could or even would like to be. For others, it can be the belief or feeling that they are not being "heard" or that their contributions are not appreciated or val-ued. Sometimes this dynamic is legitimate; oth-er times it is merely an excuse.

I believe as a community of faith we are open, welcoming and inviting. I think we do a good job of listening. The energy and vitality I experience ministering to and with you is for me a good in-dicator of our inclusiveness. I also recognize that I am "on the inside". Being "on the inside" means it is not always easy to be objective, and so I run the risk of being "blind and deaf" to what others see, hear and experience.

In the spirit of honesty, responsibility and account-ability, I ask, "What do you think?" We are in many ways an active congregation that seeks to be in ministry in a variety of ways. At the same time there is always more we could be doing.

I invite you to prayerfully reflect on who we are as a congregation and your commitment to the minis-try we share. If you are a part of "the twenty" per-cent, is there something you can do to be more wel-coming of "the eighty"? If you are part of "the eighty" is there something you can do to help in-crease "the twenty" to thirty, or forty, or even fifty?

I sincerely believe that all of us are needed to help bring God’s will for our lives and life together. My hope and prayer is that you not only share this be-lief, but also desire to act on it to the glory of God. If you do desire, now is the perfect time to begin.

Peace,

Eric