Lots of blue, a few red, a few green, only one yellow. At our Officers’ Retreat last month we did a little exercise to learn how much we have in common with one another. “What’s your favorite color?” was one question. We were fairly evenly divided among Rock, Classical, Jazz, and Country/Western music lovers. Most officers prefer Autumn among the seasons.
We learned that many of us came from traditions other than Presbyterianism, that many of us were not active in church when we were younger, and that most are not all that comfortable leading a group in prayer.
But everyone was in complete agreement with the hope that their time serving as an officer would be a time of getting to know others in the church better, a time of service in the name of Jesus Christ, a time of spiritual growth, and a time of helping our church to grow.
On Saturday morning we worked in small groups exploring what our Book of Order and Book of Confessions have to teach us. We learned, for example, that every member of our church is called to “proclaim the good news; take part in the common life and worship of our church; pray and study Scripture and the faith of the Christian Church; support the work of the church through the giving of money, time and talent; respond to God’s activity in the world through service to others; live responsibly in personal, family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of life; and work in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment.”
Most important, we learned that we as officers are called to serve God and our church with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love. We committed ourselves to doing just that through a Litany of Commitment as we worshiped together on Sunday morning.
We had a wonderful time working, praying, worshiping, talking, relaxing, and taking in the beauty of Meadowkirk, guided throughout our time together by words spoken by God through the prophet Micah: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
We came away from our weekend energized and excited about the year ahead, wondering where God will lead us, confident that we will continue to build on our strong foundation, and ready to take up our responsibilities to serve eagerly and joyfully.
Eugene Peterson’s The Message puts the Micah passage in different words, compelling and powerful: “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love. And don’t take yourself too seriously – take God seriously.”
Such appropriate words to guide our Elders, our Deacons, me, you – all of us as we follow the One who is the Head of our church, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace & peace
Pastor Skip
