A Word from Laura: A Time to Grow
Believe it or not, Lent is here again. Lent: the lengthening of days in the northern hemisphere, reminding Christians of the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness. Lent: when we bring to God the truth about ourselves and our world, trusting that God uses it to accomplish God’s love and justice for us and our world. Lent: a time to grow.
“A Time to Grow” is the theme of the bible study this season; it’s also the theme of our sermon series. The weeks ahead are a time for us to grow as a church – and to re-grow, as the pandemic shifts to endemic, and we re-enter life together, particularly in-person. We’ll discover what about us remains the same, what has changed, and how God continues to work through it all. As someone reminded me recently, anything less would not do justice to what God has been up to all these months!
We’re already growing in some new directions, but not because of anything we have done or left undone ourselves. The last two years have accelerated and accentuated changes in faith communities in North America, and we are no different.
Addressing racism - The I-ACT (Intercultural – Antiracist Change Team) is working on a process to help us clarify our vision for an intentionally intercultural and antiracist Western.
Connecting across the digital divide - Our Worship Ministry Team and deacons have already shifted to learning how to connect us as a congregation both locally, in-person and digitally, across time zones.
“The Great Reshuffle” – Western has experienced the same changes as other congregations, welcoming newcomers and returning long-time members, even as others have moved on,
Last year your session recognized the need to address how these changes impact our ministry capacity. They commissioned I-ACT and supported fundraising efforts improved technology. They also asked the Personnel Ministry Team, chaired by Mimi Scotchmer, to study and make recommendations regarding the impact for our staff and how we accomplish the mission and ministry God is calling us to do. This process needs to incorporate organizational justice, meaning that it involves everyone who needs to be at the table, and to reflect values of shared leadership and transparency at a time when our congregation and staff are already stretched.
Most importantly, our staffing needs to grow out of shared clarity around our vision and values looking forward. Before anyone makes recommendations for staffing or how we allocate resources, we as a church need to clarify our priorities, recognizing how the circumstances of our ministry have changed.
This is an opportunity for us to discover, together, what God is doing with us, right here and now. I’ve asked the session to consider as a facilitator, Rev. Daris Bultena, General Presbyter in Tropical Florida (Miami). Rev. Bultena comes recommended by others who know our theology and history and brings a commitment to racial justice and progressive values. He wants to facilitate a process that allows us to integrate the values and identity we share as we clarify what they mean for our future.
Some have asked what this means for the IACT. This process is not to supersede any of their work; rather, so that emerging intercultural and antiracist values might be integrated into decisions that lie ahead. Others have wondered about time frame and scope; much of that will be up to Westerners involved in planning. I offer myself and members of the Personnel Ministry Team – Mimi Scotchmer, Duncan Smith, and Kathy Hawk – as folks to turn to with your questions.
In the short-term, I am inviting you and all of our congregation into this time to grow. I anticipate that this season of growth will last beyond Lent, into Easter, just as in Christ we discover that life itself is about dying to one thing and rising to another. I give thanks that we continue on this life journey together, and I look forward to discovering what God has in store for you, for me, and for us as a church.
Towards growth in God,
Laura