Semper Reformanda*

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Semper Reformanda*

…..“A congregation that is serious about equipping us to be the church in God’s world will be a congregation where people get focused. Getting focused involves two things. First of all, it means zeroing in on the most important things—being clear about who we are as a community of people called to participation in God’s mission in the world. Second, it means paying attention—listening intensely. When we are getting focused, we are all ears, leaning toward God to hear what is being said to us.”

-“Reclaiming the ‘C’ Word”, p. 50, by Kelly Fryer

 

…..“Being the kind of church God needs us to be, a church God can use to bring the whole world back home again, begins when we curb our desires and park our agendas. It begins when we commit ourselves to listening for God’s voice. It begins with wanting, more than anything else, to be a part of what God is up to.”  

-“Reclaiming the ‘C’ Word”, p. 54, by Kelly Fryer

 

It’s time to get focused. Again.

 

…..As I’ve been slogging through the years and years of documents in my office, one of the things I’ve noticed is that this is a congregation that has a history of getting focused. They’ve gone by different names over the years (“Vision Plan”, “Vision Goal Statements”, “Growing on Broadway”), but the purpose has always been the same: to name who we are, what we value, and where we are going. And it’s time to do it again.

 

…..And so I ask you: Who are we? What do we value? Where are we going? Over the next couple of months, you will have several opportunities to participate in the process of crafting an updated “Vision Plan/Vision Goal Statements/Growing on Broadway” plan. After all, what we call it matters far less than where we are going together.

 

…..Specifically, during the month of October, you will be invited to offer feedback on the most recent Vision Plan put together in 2012. A lot has happened at Trinity since that document was created and you will have the opportunity to suggest what you feel still matters to the body and what, perhaps, is less central to our identity today.

 

…..That information will be gathered together and at the end of October, we’ll be celebrating Reformation Sunday (Oct. 25th) with an all-congregation gathering during worship to further clarify our priorities for the near future. We will honor and celebrate God’s living reformation among us today.

 

…..I wish I could tell you that I know where we are going and how we will get there, but I can’t. And I probably shouldn’t even try. Truth be told, I have no idea where we’re going. But I am deeply grateful that we get to go there together. I believe and I trust that God is calling us to be a part of what God is up to and our work is to “get focused”, listen, and then, finally, to follow.

 

Grace and peace, my brothers and sisters,

Pr. Rachel

 

*Always Being Reformed