A Word from Laura: A Spirit for Tough Times

“How are these tough times shaping us into who we need to be for the future?”

An education advocate closed with this question that could have been for any aspect of the public sector. Even the church.

In terms of tough times, the delta variant accelerated and intensified the impact of any number of trends already at work before the pandemic:
• Resignation from organizations - whether work or church – particularly among millennials and Gen Z;
• discernment of and reckoning with the impact of racism on our social systems and collective unconscious bias;
• life in the techno-verse, where every action has a digital component.

You could add the #MeToo movement, climate crisis, economic inequities. You can create your own list!

These shifts impact Western, too. Our Reformed tradition calls us to ask how tough times shape us, but in different language:

How is God calling us to be re-formed by the Spirit at work in tough times?

Faith tells us that change is not an accident, but that God calls us to new things in changing circumstances.

Western’s leaders are working to hear God’s call. Whether through joining our Antiracism Interest Group (AIG) for transformative discussions on public safety or committing to the work of an Intercultural Antiracism Change Team (IACT) that will lead organizational change, you can be part of this work. Contact Susie Farr about the interest group or Becky Koenig about the change team.

In terms of digital worship, the Hybrid Worship Team is looking for volunteers for a Sunday morning tech team who can run our slides, camera and sound, all using the tech that is now in place! Are you being called to serve one Sunday a month, as Western continues in a new mode of worship? Please contact Greta Morris or Alec Resurreccion.

God’s Spirit requires new things of us for the sake of our faith community.

I don’t know of a single individual who is looking for something new right now. No one is looking to join a committee or take on a job that does not connect to deeper meaning, if we ever were.

Yet God continues to ask how we will lead by serving, how we will grow as individuals and as a community, and how we will be strengthened in faith. Not because we’re doing things the same way, but because we trust God’s change has something in store for us and for our church.

Your Session recognizes the need for our common commitment, whether in time or talent or treasure. The other night one member volunteered to bring her kids in to put up some new bulletin boards. Another volunteered to edit video for a recent worship service. Another has informally coordinated a group of volunteers to serve lunches on the third Sunday to the community living in tents across Virginia Avenue.

Where is the Spirit moving you? If you had 30 minutes a week to serve your church, what would you want to do with it? With increasing demands from work or family, how will you remain committed to your faith community, and in a way that energizes us all?

Scripture is an evolving story of God’s Spirit calling people to new forms of faithfulness in tough times. How is God calling you?

Grace and peace, dear friends,
Laura