So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! --2 Corinthians 5:17
Dear Members and Friends of St. John’s, You’ve heard this old, tired joke before: “How many Lutherans does it take to change a lightbulb? … CHANGE?!” There is something in our human nature that fights change with all our might. And somewhere along the way, Lutherans gained a reputation for being particularly adverse to change. This is a strange phenomenon for a group of people who not only trace our founding to a feisty German monk who changed the face of the Church, but who also claim a Savior who’s death and resurrection changed the world.
St. John’s as a congregation has proven to be one that does not fall into the tired trope, though. I have been impressed by the ways in which you have faced the changes not only forced upon you, but those smaller ones you have chosen to make, with courage and faith. Not least of which is the new worship time we will begin on September 8. My prayer is that the model of listening and discernment and courage that made this (relatively small) change will be the foundation for how you as a congregation will continue to make decisions in the future.
Soon, the Call Process (the way in which you choose and call a new Pastor) will begin in earnest. There will be changes that occur before, during, and after a decision is made. People will leave and people will arrive. Some will resign old positions, and others will take on new roles. My hope is that you continue to not be afraid of these changes. I pray that you consider how you might be changed in this process: will you take on a new volunteer opportunity? Will you give a little more in your stewardship to support the ministries of this congregation during the transition? Will you find new ways to encourage those who step forward to fill needs? Will you help the congregation listen more deeply to those in and around this community, to better hear the voice and will of God?
We place our trust in a God who makes all things new. The changes we have and will experience are signs that God is at work in this place. Let us continue forward in courage to try new things and proclaim more boldly the goodness of God.
