Christ is in our midst, friends!
In my last letter to you all I described the image that I’m using to shape my imagination for this sabbatical time. If you remember, I’m taking the role the captain’s assistant, following the stars rising over the horizon to steer our ship safely to the intended destination while our captain takes a much-needed break.
The sea at night is dark and full of terrors. One of the greatest perils to our voyage, however, is not any external threat from unseen leviathans lurking beneath the surface of the waves, or surprise hazards looming over the horizon, hidden against the night sky. We’re not going to run aground in the middle of the open ocean. We’re not about to get swallowed by a kraken.
Not at all; the greatest threat we face is the half-life of enthusiasm.
During our congregational discernment process in 2018 and into the beginning of this year, this community discerned the route we want to take into our future as a beloved community in spirit, in mission, and in motion. I could feel the boldness and the enthusiasm when I first met this community during the interview process. This clear vision was one of the factors that spoke the loudest to me about your heart, your spirit, and your eagerness to be at work alongside God in healing the world.
All over the church you’ll see posters with our Union Church Vision 2019 priorities listed on them. I’ve been around churches long enough to know that these kinds of reminders tend to fade into the background after a certain amount of time.
As enthusiasm wanes, we grow used to seeing the familiar screed. Even more challenging is the fact that the purpose behind the words is slowly forgotten over time. What would propel us into the future becomes merely another task for us to complete while we wait in the doldrums for the next, more exciting star to rise over the dark horizon. The fire that fueled us fades to an ember.
In the middle of our voyage it’s crucial that we not forget the course we’ve set for ourselves and the enthusiasm with which we set out. Because lives depend on it.
Amid all these nautical metaphors, it’s not lost on me that this past weekend marked the 400th anniversary of another ship arriving in the New World. On August 25th, 1619, the first slave ship carrying captive West African women, men, and children to the Virginia colony arrived on these shores.
As we rightly join our voices and intentions in prayer for the souls of those caught up in the legacy of this abyssal tragedy, let us do so with the knowledge that our responsibility as an offshoot of the Jesus Movement is to set the captive free. Let us remember rightly in this violent world.
It’s baked into our abolitionist DNA.
You see, all this talk of strategic planning and institutional vision is not about keeping Union around for the next 20 years. Our voyage as a faith community is not simply about preserving the legacy of Union Church as a museum piece. Our voyage is, in no small way, a journey towards undoing and reversing this country’s importation of hatred and oppression by exporting justice and hope, by defending the oppressed and excluded, and by upsetting the “natural order of things” by saying no to exploitation, racism, and violence—boldly, stridently, brilliantly, wherever it is to be found.
To be honest, it’s got me thinking that we’re almost like “pirates for Jesus” or something. I’m into it.
Over the next month, you’ll be seeing and hearing some tweaks in how we’re presenting communications, from routine announcements in the bulletin all the way up to whatever it is I’m shouting joyfully about on Sunday morning.
Our goal in doing this is to draw your attention, over and over again, to those stars by which this community charted its course: our five mission values, the four vital skillsets we’re cultivating, and the three great loves that are meant to guide us on these two years of work on our journey towards becoming one beloved community. Our goal is to celebrate the mission with which we’ve been entrusted, that we not lose enthusiasm. Our goal is to stay on track!
And as we stay on track, let us celebrate. For every captive freed, for every relationship healed, for every stranger welcomed, for every hungry person fed, for every cold person clothed and sheltered, for every lonely person visited, for every heart that comes to know that they are loved endlessly, let us raise a cup in deepest thanksgiving (as we will once again this Sunday at Christ’s table).
And as we toast with gratitude, let’s remember where we’re headed. Let’s remember why we’re doing this Church thing to begin with. And, gosh, let’s have fun with it.
Peace,
Pr Nate
(photo by Rachael White)
Leave a Reply