After worship, Sunday, November 15, we’ll gather for our annual congregation meeting. In preparation for our meeting, I’m reflecting upon our hopes and dreams and prayers for next year and beyond. At last year’s November congregation meeting, I shared with you my belief that our church building has gotten too big
for us. Plus, it’s in need of a lot of cleaning, maintenance, and remodel. At last year’s meeting I asked for volunteers to form an ad hoc ministry group to explore our options and come up with ideas for us to discuss at this year’s November congregation meeting. Barbara Schneider and Barbara Tibbitts volunteered. They looked at the possibly of selling our current property, and either building or buying another property better suited to our current and future needs. I also asked them to look at ideas how we might keep this property and refurbish it.

 

Here are some of the things Barbara Schneider and Barbara Tibbits discovered. A commercial real estate agent advised us that church buildings in our area are currently not selling. So, for now, that leaves us with finding ways to keep our church building. If we remain in this building that leaves us with the challenge of keeping it clean and well maintained.

 

Another subject matter expert advised us that if we want to keep this building, the best thing we could do to defray our month-to-month expenses would be to rent out as much of it as possible. We’re doing that now. Our church administrator, Kim Cummings, has been doing a great job managing our rental program to help pay some of our bills. Keep in mind, renting helps, but it is not the sole answer.

 

When we joined together in ministry, we discussed what our future together might look like. One of the goals we agreed upon was that we would prepare for Parma Lutheran Church’s ministry beyond our 100th Birthday, which will celebrate in January 2033. We agreed that we will work together to grow spiritually and establish good administrative ways of doing business to take us into the next century, and that we would work to have a church building that will be in good repair and suited to our present and future needs to take us and our posterity into the next 100 years of worship, fellowship, and Christian ministry and outreach.
Maybe this discussion sounds scary. It shouldn’t. I believe here has never been a better time to be church!

 

The world outside our stained glass windows is violent, cruel, bitter, and unforgiving. Here among us is a safe harbor of grace, love, and Christ-like acceptance of all people. It is God’s love given us that we in turn share with all who come through our church doors. That’s why our motto is all welcome, all accepted, and all loved. If we are faithful to the ministry and example of Jesus Christ, I believe, we will grow.

So too, I believe we have every resource among us to be successful in the ministries God has called us. As Isaiah writes, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11). We are in God’s hands. And I believe God will accomplish through us all God has called us to do! Sometime in the future we’ll have a family discussion about the building. But I don’t believe we are spiritually prepared to have that discussion at this year’s congregation meeting. This past year many of us have been spiritually sluggish. My first concern at this point in our life together is not about our building or its furnishings, or whether we stay or move into another building. I’m concerned about our faithful proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how we reflect the love, teaching, and example of Jesus as a church family. This is what’s truly important! I want us to rekindle the fire we once had back when we joined in ministry together five years ago. After that everything else will fall into place.

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Journeying with you in Christ,

Pastor Jay