I’ve been thinking . . . about new adventure

Remember those old westerns about pioneers setting out from the East, heading West in covered wagons to build new lives? An inevitable scene in many of those “oaters” was the crossing of a wide, fast river. You remember, the drivers would crack their whips over the backs of the unfortunate horses, urging them to plunge into the rushing water. The wagons would tilt and crash against the rocks, almost falling over, almost sending those trying to drive the wagons into the drink. Everywhere men on horseback would be riding around the wagons, yelling and urging and pulling, trying to get everyone—horses, wagons and of course, people—across the raging river. This memory of many movies past popped into my head as I contemplated the end of our church year and the new officers taking over the many tasks that keep the church moving forward. Now I don’t say the change-over from last year’s officers to this year’s is anything like as chaotic as those old movie crossings—Praise God! But we are, every June, standing on the banks of the river of change, getting ready to cross over to the other side.

In some ways it is confusing to have so many new beginnings. We have the church year beginning in July with new officers. We have the financial church year beginning in January with all the new promises and pledges to make building the kingdom for one more year a reality. We have Advent, at the close of each year, with its promise for a new beginning of faith, and again at Easter our faith is called to rise up and be new again. And then on Pentecost—new again, a new beginning for the birthday of the church. We truly have a God who loves to shout—“behold, I am doing a new thing!”

As all of you know (at least, I hope you do), this year (whenever you want to start counting) is the first of a three year regional commitment to transformation. This is not a program, nor is it a promotion, nor yet just another new buzz word for the same-old, same-old problem/opportunity for church growth. Transformation means taking what is and making something new. Transformation means seeing the new potential that is yet untouched, finding in ourselves and our churches new meaning and power and grace. Transformation is a process, not a list of answers. We have been invited to join other churches in our region in affirming a three-year covenant to engage in this exciting adventure. We will have an opportunity to explore the meaning of Transformation as a process when Sandhya Jha, minister of transformation for the region comes to our church. She will be with us on Sunday, July 9th for a special sermon and after-church presentation. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet Sandhya, to discuss what transformation means for the region and for our church. Please plan to be in church on the 9th, and to stay for Sandhya’s presentation.

So—here we go again. A new church year. A new church vision. New saints ready to drive the wagons! A new horizon beckons. Wagons, ho!

Shalom,
Judith