We did it. Yesterday, we held our Annual Meeting. From my opinion, and from others who reached out to me, it was a success. We elected new council members (Welcome Erlinde Belivue as Secretary and Kristen Crawford as Treasurer). We elected Joan and Stever Bauer to attend the Synod Assembly in June (it will be virtual). We approved a Spending Plan for the year 2021! We even watch a brief “State of the Church Address” made by Cristina Dolcino, the Council President and myself.
I wanted to briefly follow-up and provide you with the article and book that I spoke about during the “State of the Church Address.”
The article “The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake” by David Brooks is from the March 2020 issue of The Atlantic. For some, it might be hard to read. It critiques a time that many people long for or want to return to. What I ask you to remember when reading it is that the point of the article is not to come to the conclusion or convince anyone that the time described was “bad.” Rather, it is about coming to an understanding that the time described no longer exists. For us to have helpful and fruitful conversations about the future of the church, we need to better understand our place in the world and the context around us. For me, this article was eye opening and helped me better understand what people are nostalgic for and why that isn’t coming back.
The book I referenced was “How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going: How to Lead in a Liminal Time” by Susan Beaumont. The point of the book is to help churches take their time in determining what the future will be like. It doesn’t prescribe anything or say, “Do this and your problems will be solved.” In fact, Beaumont steers clear of the easy and prescribed answer. She is solely interested in helping congregations navigate their way into a future that appears uncertain and what pitfalls are common and how to look out for them. For me, this book gives me permission to take a deep breath and to put fear in its proper place.
Currently, conversations regarding this article and book will be at the council level. At some point, we will engage everyone about what this means for us as a congregation, but we are not there yet. I am informing you about all of this because it is good to be open about conversations and potential future directions. Please don’t feel the need to buy the book or read the article. That is not necessary. My writing here is meant to be informative. There will be no immediate or all-encompassing change in the near future. This is about beginning a conversation to better understand who we are and who we are called to be. The only thing that I am asking of all us to do right now is to pray. Pray for God’s Spirit and wisdom to be with us and for all of us to be open to it.
Thanks for your prayers.
Pastor Tim