Last week, I shared the plans for Risen Lord to engage in a Journey through Lent. I know that we are all busy and this can feel like just one more thing to try to cram into a busy schedule, so this week, I would like to share some of the reasons for this Journey and some of my hopes for it.
As we are in this process of redevelopment, we know that redevelopment begins with ourselves, re-rooting ourselves in the good news of Jesus Christ so that we can get God’s dream for this congregation into focus. As part of the redevelopment covenant, we committed to growing in discipleship . As we walk in this Journey, we will engage the Bible and see how it applies to our lives, all parts of growing as disciples of Jesus. We are a congregation composed of people from different church backgrounds, from different cities or parts of the country, who work different jobs and from different generations with different political persuasions and different interests, and yet we seek a way for us to engage in God’s mission in the world together. While we do not need to all be the same in order to work together, the Journey will give us an opportunity to bring our identity as Risen Lord Lutheran Church into focus and discuss the principles that guide us . Meeting with a Journey group weekly requires a commitment to be present as often as you are able, which can be difficult. And yet, we know that faith does not happen in isolation . In Proverbs 27:17, we read, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” It is by discussing questions together and struggling with applying this to our lives together that we grow and become stronger. We also know that meeting together regularly helps strengthen relationships, allowing us to know each other and trust each other more. As you look at group schedules, I would encourage you to consider joining a group with people you do not know as well in order to strengthen relationships across generations and backgrounds. We are seeking God’s voice and God’s dream for our congregation. As we look to engaging with our community and sharing God’s love through words and actions, we have many good options and opportunities in front of us, but we cannot do all of them. It is in conversation with each other that we discover how passions and interests and skills can be put together to answer the needs of the community. Journey groups will provide another opportunity to be in discussion as we look for our way forward. Remember, to engage in the Journey fully, there are three parts: 1. Worship
2. Small Group study
3. Challenge
In order to allow everyone to participate in a Journey group, we have a wide range of groups meeting at different times - Tuesday evenings, Wednesday morning, afternoon or evening and Thursday evenings. Sign ups are available in the gathering space - and there is a place for you! We need participants to sign up by March 3 so that we can plan accordingly! If none of the available times work for you, you can talk to Pastor Lecia about creating another Journey group. Journey guides will be available to pick up at church beginning February 24.
I look forward to our Journey together!
In the abiding hope of the Risen Lord,
Pastor Lecia