Church life

Changes are coming — part 2

/ The Pastor / 11 Comments

Well…the congregational meeting I wrote about last time went pretty well.  We had the election of new church council members and there was nothing too out of the ordinary (the transition between the former and new financial secretary is going to be interesting though). 

Another big item at the meeting was a discussion about the new ELW (Evangelical Lutheran Worship).  I bought 6 copies of the hymnal for people to check out and review.  So far a 1/2 a dozen people have looked at them (we have a ways to go).  We have not made any decisions but I am guessing we will be moving in that direction.  Then after the meeting a parishioner came up to me and said that along with new hymnals we need to have Bibles in the pews (we currently use the ELCA "Celebration" insert with the lessons printed).  I agreed whole heartily and said I was looking for some good ones that had a type that was the same size or bigger than our inserts.

The last big item was how to spend the money from the large gift we received from a parishioner.  The committee came up with a priority list and number 1 was was no surprise (the entrance ramp going into the sanctuary needs a big face lift).  Number 2 on the list was to re-model the church offices.  I currently have a closet for an office with no air conditioning (did I mention I have no air conditioning and the dew point today is suppose to approach 70).  Anyway…I was excited about that.  People seemed to agree with the list.

The one thing that did come up (that caught me off guard – in a good way) was about celebrating Holy Communion more than once a month.  A woman mentioned that she works every other weekend and usually misses out on communion.  She asked if we could do it more often so she could participate.  Of course I am all for that and according to Luther, celebrating Holy Communion EVERYDAY would not be enough.  Unfortunately it will be a tough road for me to move people to a more than once a month Communion habit.  My internship congregation went through this long process just before I arrived there and so far it is going well.  I guess I will have to take things slow and do a lot of education.  Any advice about this?

As Diane commented the other day, it is an exciting time to be the pastor at Salem Lutheran Church.  There are some big challenges ahead for us, but I know that God will guide us.  I pray that I have the wisdom and strength to persevere when things get tough.  With that…I embrace the changes that are coming.
-edh-

Changes are coming

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

June 1 marked my three year anniversary of my ministry here at Salem Lutheran Church.  This is still my first call and one I see myself in for quite some time yet (unless, of course, they run me out sooner).  Coming out of seminary they warned us about getting too feisty and making too many changes too soon.  One month after I arrived here I moved the baptismal font from the back of the sanctuary to the front (bold move, I know).  This got the attention of a couple people and one in particular — so much so that she stuck her foot so far into her month that she needed a team of <something> to pull it out.

At my installation service in August of 2004 this person, N, was talking to my dad (she did not know he was my dad).  They got to talking about the "new pastor".  At this N started complaining about how I moved the baptismal font and complained about a couple other "trivial" things.  During this little rant S came over and said to N, "Hey, have you met pastor’s dad?".  N froze up and quickly ended the conversation — probably to find some help to remove her foot from her mouth.  Today N and I have a great working relationship.  She is a valuable member of this ministry.  I don’t know what I would do without her.

Tomorrow (June 24) is our congregational meeting and more things are changing.  We are electing new council members.  One such council member has been the financial secretary (keeping track of offerings and deposits) for a couple decades and as of July 1 she is done.  We are also talking about the new ELWs (new hymnals for the ELCA).  We aren’t making any decisions yet but hopefully moving in that direction (I wonder how people are going to respond).  We will also be discussing how we are going to spend a large monetary gift we received from a parishioner (they want the money spent on the property while they are still alive).  Lots of things changing and hopefully for the better.

I know God is going to do something amazing here at Salem and these changes are signs of those (new) amazing things.  My prayer is that people are open to God’s calling and see that we need to move in a new direction if we are to be more relevant in our community.  Tradition is great but context is also important.

I am looking forward to tomorrow.  I am looking forward to how the Holy Spirit is going to lead Salem Lutheran Church through these new changes.  I am looking forward to how God is going to use us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  I am looking forward to how God is going to use me here at Salem as I continue to lead these people into the future.  God is awesome and God is faithful.  And I hold onto that with all my strength.

As always…praise God always and forever, Amen!
-edh-