First off I want to thank everyone for a fabulous worship service and party send off for Pastor Mary. I couldn’t possibly name all the people who contributed to the day and If I tried, I would be afraid of leaving somebody out. It was a great day! One member called it an act of love and it truly was. Pastor Mary was the right leader for us as a congregation at the right time. That is our goal again as we begin the process of finding our next pastor.
And indeed it is a process. Some have already asked if we are forming a Call Committee yet? There is a lot to happen before we get to that point. At our Informational Meeting on May 7th we presented details of the process and answered questions. If you could not attend, a recording of the meeting is available online. But in short here is a summary of the steps ahead of us:
Yes, it sounds like a lot, and it is. However, we are fortunate that the previous Council’s 2021-2022 long range planning efforts and listening sessions have also put us in a good position for parts of the transition work as well as MET work including: Revising our Vision, Mission, and Values statements; determining what we lost (people and our certainty and confidence in our future) and what we learned during the pandemic (Adaptability, resiliency, and focus on the moment); Identification of our strengths - welcoming, involve our youth, helpful, friendship/mutual support, giving, compassionate, music, joyfulness/liveliness, outward looking, unpretentious, inclusive, and safe; and Identification of our biggest opportunities to improve - stronger presence in the community, not always recognized for our strong outreach ministries, need to rebuild relationships within our congregation post-pandemic, and a need to attract younger people and rebuild youth programs. In addition to our gratitude for the work already done there is a list of things we can do to move forward even before an interim/transition pastor is called these include: Updating our Reconciled in Christ status, identifying current active internal and external ministries, summarize current lay leadership and staffing, gather congregation statistics (member demographics, worship attendance, financial information), assess physical plant, review Constitution and Bylaws, and have conversations about who we are and who are neighbors are. If you are interested in helping with any of the work ahead, please contact me! It is my extreme hope and prayer that our Resurrection family will embrace the tasks ahead with the same love and zeal they did the send off for Pastor Mary. If that happens, we cannot fail. WE are the Church! Tom
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Well as I write this there is still a layer of snow on the ground and it is hard to imagine that April will be here in a few days. April to me typically means spring and spring is a time of rebirth. However, for our Resurrection Family this year, April is going to be just plain busy.
April 2nd is Palm Sunday and we will gather to recount the story of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and His passion and crucifixion using the Cry of the Whole Congregation. The story flows into our Holy Week services, which are really one service over three days (the Triduum). On Maundy Thursday (4/6 @ 7pm), remembering the last supper, we will celebrate the eucharist and hear again Christ give us a new commandment and we will remember His love for His disciples through the washing of feet. Good Friday (4/7@ 7pm) will bring us back again to Calvary in a solemn service commemorating Christ’s crucifixion. But then, Easter Morning (10am) brings a festival worship service celebrating Jesus’ resurrection from the dead! We will also enjoy Easter Breakfast together (sign up for attendance and to help out is on the kiosk). This year families are invited to share Easter Blessings with other families through the sharing of bread and wine. If you wish to participate, package a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine along with a short blessing for another family. Place it in front of the altar and after the service choose another’s package to share with your family at Easter dinner (thanks to Kacz and Cindy for this new idea). Following Easter the council’s attention will turn to something that is bitter sweet at best – The transition of Resurrection from the ministry of Pastor Mary to something reborn. I’m reminded of what she often says, “Living things change.” Some time in mid-April the council will meet with Kristin Nielsen, the bishop's assistant (or her representative) who will enlighten us about the process we are about to undertake. In an effort to be as open and communicative as possible we will have a brief informational session after worship on Sunday May 7th. The purpose of that meeting will be to provide an overview of what we can expect in the transition process and to answer as many questions as we can (though there will, of course, be much we don’t know). Besides Easter, April will also bring other celebrations! Sunday April 23rd will be Confirmation Sunday. We will celebrate with Layla and her family as she affirms her baptismal promises. Plans are also underway for Sunday April 30th, Pastor Mary’s last Sunday with us. If you have ideas or would like to help plan a worship service of Farewell and God’s Speed, reach out to Anita Marlin. Kacz and Cindy are looking for help planning and executing the “Party of a Lifetime”. I would appreciate help preparing the recognition and thank you. I strongly encourage everyone to watch their emails and weekly announcements closely as specifics about the day and opportunities to help out unfold. Blessings, Tom You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:13-16 Well, news of Pastor’s retirement has, not surprisingly, been met with a host of emotions. I myself am very sad for us but certainly very happy and excited for her as she enters this next phase of her life. As I told her, I highly recommend retirement.
I am also very proud of our church family here at Resurrection. The Sunday of her announcement, numerous people came up to me and expressed their support for me and the Council as we move through the months ahead. I was overwhelmed by the sentiment that WE are the church. Certainly, Pastor has been our guiding force for the past 20 years. We are forever grateful for that and will miss her deeply. However, my heart is uplifted by the numerous folks that have expressed in one way or another that this is something we will work through together and come out on the other side strong. I am reminded of the very popular Confirmation verse, Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through the power of the one who strengthens me”. But I am also reminded of the Gospel lesson from the Sunday of our annual meeting where, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encouraged his followers by calling them salt and light. Each of us will continue to need time to process our feelings. But we too are salt – the best that we can be, people of great kindness, and reliability. I have no doubt we will be here for one another. Lifting one another up when needed and stepping in to help when needed to continue to do ministry together. I am confident these things will occur because we too are light. We are a community committed to; celebrating God’s love, growing in our love for Jesus, and sharing that love with each other and the world. It is who we are. It is who we have been for decades. We are the church that celebrates grace, worships together, nurtures each other and reaches out. Our light gives light for all to see, so that others may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven. I have no doubt WE will continue to be that church. Blessings, Tom It was with significant prayerful soul searching that I decided to accept when asked to consider being the president of the council. I have always been the kind of person who wants to give his all and do his best when undertaking a task. I came to the realization that at this point in my life that I have the time to devote to the job. Ultimately, I also came to the conclusion I had some skills to offer and this is something I was being called to do.
We are in a unique situation as a congregation this year where there has been a large turn-over of council positions. This largely grew out of Covid and the fact that several council members were asked to extend their current terms for a year. One of the things I bring to the table in that regard is background. Basically that means I’m old and we’ve been members for a long time. I hope to be a resource for my fellow council members (and members of the congregation as well) – to answer questions, guide, and encourage. Much of who we are comes from the things we do together as a community. Where those things are a part of our history I aim to continue to help us make them happen or to help refresh them to reflect our values, mission, and vision. We are also in a unique time and place as a human race. We live at a time when information is coming at us at lightning speed. Often it seems as if we’re drowning in emails, text messages, advertising, social media posts . . ., well you know what I mean. One of the things I often taught my older students with communication deficits, is to prioritize what information is the most important. I would really like us all as a congregation and council to prioritize the communication that is important to us as a community. I am just as guilty as the next person. I realize it’s the beginning of the month. I should go to the church website or my email to read the president’s message only to realize I hadn’t read it last month either. It kind of upsets me a little bit when this happens, because the monthly President’s Message is something I started the last time I was council president many years ago out of a concern over communication. Communication is a two-way street. We can put the information out there, but if nobody reads it the message is not getting through. We will certainly continue to put the electronic message out there through email, website, and social media. However, the last couple of months we have been putting out a few paper copies of Ron’s messages. For those of us who still prefer paper over a screen I would like to continue to do that. I also want to go back to posting Council Minutes both on the website and the bulletin board next to the office (yes another paper copy). We will work diligently to put the information out there. My hope is, you will be just as diligent in seeking it out. Finally, I would like to thank the out-going council members for all their hard work and service to this congregation. Their work in identifying our Values, Mission, and Vision and beginning us down the path to future viability as a congregation by reaching out to the community and younger generations have given the new council a starting point rooted in energy, vision, and hope. They have set the bar high but it is work that we will take up and continue to move forward. Blessings, Tom |