Pastor’s Ponderings for January 2011
10 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
As we look forward to 2011 and the Annual meeting, I want to highlight some aspects of this congregation that you may not have noticed – or if you did notice you might have taken for granted. I invite your feedback on these as I am working ahead a bit on the annual state of the church sermon. Besides that, I think we need to share ideas and reactions. It is all too easy to assume that everyone is happy until things build up and we discover that no one is happy. Let’s talk now and avoid the rush. RMPC is growing at a healthy rate. We see new faces often; many visitors keep coming back. We have welcomed a number of new members and hope to welcome even more. These newer folk are becoming active in the congregation. One of the things I like best about RMPC is the fact that integrating into the congregation does not require conformity. We are unique in the ways we celebrate folk for who they are and what they bring. At RMPC, new ideas are tried and blended with older traditions to create something most of us can support. If the new idea needs tweaking, we work together to make it better. While this may seem like obvious behavior to most of us, it is not at all obvious to many congregations. In fact, the failure to respect the gifts of newcomers is one of the primary reasons congregations fail to thrive. Worship attendance is very good. We see larger numbers at worship regularly. The choir is growing, as is our Sunday school. When a congregation grows it is all too easy to forget that the primary thing is, in fact, the primary thing. We are, first and foremost, a worshipful gathering of the people of God. If worship fails we all fail. If Christian education fails we all fail. RMPC is not failing! It is my prejudice that worship MUST be engaging, personal and stimulating. Mistakes are permitted (thank God!) but lack of preparation or attention to detail is not to be tolerated. All aspects of worship are important from the candles to the windowsills to the sermon. The sermon is especially important because we Presbyterians consider preaching the Word to be nearly a sacrament. Still, the sermon can be good and the music or the cleanliness of the sanctuary, or behavior during worship, or the blandness of prayer, or several other things can be bad enough to ruin the worship experience. The Worship and Music Committee tries to balance new with familiar, exciting with calming, attention-grabbing with subtle. Often we succeed. I appreciate your flexibility when we fail (be very glad you never had to sit through the vacuum cleaner sermon) and I welcome your suggestions and challenges. Mort is very approachable, too. He loves feedback. The bulletin will never be perfect and I will always find it difficult to preach behind a pulpit, but lots of things can evolve – and will. Christian Education is cyclical at RMPC. For quite a while, we had a lot of adults in Bible study and almost no children. Today that situation has reversed. Our Sunday school is doing well. We have a dedicated group of parents who lead and teach. I wish there were teachers available whose children were not in Sunday school. If you are interested, please give me a call. I remember the excitement the children felt when people like John Morris gave classes on topic of interest. I would love to offer that to our current batch of children. I would also love to develop adult education again. Interested? I recently ordered a video series on the book of Revelation, just in case. New programs are being implemented and championed in the life of the church. Our concert series has really made me happy. I love the music. I am excited about the ways the program changes just enough after each concert. I appreciate the leadership that keeps the series going. Dave’s Cookin’ remains fresh and fun. How does Gail keep coming up with interesting programs? How does Dave keep our palates happy without becoming boring? This is a good program getting better. Shape Up! and Line Dancing have drawn a dedicated crew that consists of newer members, long timers, and friends. The Line dancing group even met during the week between Christmas and New Year. We will keep planning; new ideas abound. It seems to me that the programs that have succeeded at RMPC have had two important things going for them. They have each had at least one champion from the congregation and each has met a need for several of our congregation. Our programming does not need to serve tons of people. It simply has to meet the needs of enough folk to keep it going. The Craft Corner regularly meets with only two or four crafters; over six folk is a big group! Still, it has continued for well over five years. Its handwork has helped clothe stillborn babies, sold well at the annual cookie and craft sale, and fueled interest in a steady stream of new folk. Our demographic is changing but our commitment has not. Robinson Memorial Presbyterian Church has been blessed with: God’s unconditional love and forgiveness, abundant talent and commitment, a rich heritage in the Presbyterian tradition. Robinson Memorial Presbyterian Church exists to: worship God, share God’s love and the Gospel with all, grow in faith. This will be accomplished by: encouraging discipleship, setting an example by living Christ’s teachings, offering our facilities, our heritage, and our talents to the community through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are committed to this community, to worship, to children, to service, to prayer, to each other. Our congregation is calling older adults into community as we planned. Now it is also drawing families with children. Clearly God has a plan for us. So far God’s plan has included things I did not imagine. Wonder what comes next? Glitches happen; we deal with them. Yes, we do. When the roof needed replacing we rose to the occasion. When vandalism became rampant, we stopped it. When Donna Chapman was Called to Whitelaw, we celebrated and coped. This is a good church, a blessed church. RMPC is not perfect, but what would a bunch of humans do with a perfect church? Would we even dare try to imagine what to do with one? I know I would be lost. Still, we are moving forward in a world where mainline congregations are falling back. We are serving the God who loves us. We are the Body of Christ, operating out of 126 South Terry Road.
