Risen Lord Lutheran Church exists in order to share God’s love through words and actions. In order to do that, we embrace the ministry to which God has called each one of us, living out our vocation. I have shared it often, but my favorite description of vocation comes from Frederich Buechner: [Vocation] comes from the Latin vocare, to call, and means the work a man is called to by God.
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There are all different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work, and the problem is to find out which is the voice of God rather than of Society, say, or the Super-ego, or Self-Interest. By and large a good rule for finding out is this. The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you've presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing TV deodorant commercials, the chances are you've missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time you're bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a) but probably aren't helping your patients much either. Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet. (originally published in Wishful Thinking, quoted at www.frederickbuechner.com) Ministry is about vocation, a living out of the spiritual gifts given to each of us in baptism. Ministry is how the priesthood of all believers live out their faith, inside and out of the church. As we look to the future of Risen Lord and shaping a new Leadership Team for 2020, I ask you to consider your vocation and how you can use it to serve with our congregation. The heart of the team will be five ministry leaders (one who will also serve as the vice-president) as well as a president, secretary and treasurer. We are looking for ministry leaders with gifts and interest in each of the following areas: stewardship, outreach, faith formation, hospitality and facilities. Since we are looking to run a ministry, not a business, meetings will focus on growing in discipleship together as a team then dreaming and collaborating about future ministry opportunities. We are a congregation gifted with many assets, both in our facility and in our people, and hope that this team will help us make the best use of those for God’s mission in our world. If this piques your interest and you would like to help shape our future, please speak to Pastor Lecia or a member of the nominating committee (Ginny Lucaites and Linda Goers). Consider how you can respond to God’s call to use your gifts with a resounding “yes, with the help of God.” In the abiding hope of the Risen Lord, Pastor Lecia
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