Faith in Questions: Questions of Faith

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.

-I John 4:11-13

Transitions can be a lot like Festivus from Seinfeld. First there's an airing of grievances and then come the feats of strength. Old scabs can be picked at, old fights re-started, and then there's a force of wills that follows this on who was/is right and who was and still is wrong. 

We haven't had that. 

After two consultants, we still don't have that. It seems we are acting as we are called to through the letter of John. We are trying our best to love one another, understand each other and express that God is within our neighbor just as God is within us. 

That's pretty cool! 

Now comes the hard part. We have to change the way we do things. Well, not yet. First we have to figure out what exactly to change that will get us toward our vision of who we are and who we want to be. And actually, THAT is the hard part. So let's get into the questions:

• We are a moderately sized pastoral church, do we want to be a large programmatic church?
• We are already a welcoming church, do we want to become an Open and Affirming church?
• We need to attract young families, but how do we do that and what exactly are they looking for?
• We are largely a progressive church theologically, how do we affirm that yet keep those who are moderate to traditional in theology feeling like they are still welcomed and part of the community?
• How do we as the clergy, staff, and transition teams keep our laity informed and up-to-date on what's going on?

These are serious questions. These are constantly on my mind as we enter the next phase of this transition. I am grateful for how far we've come and how we've gotten here. It is my prayer that we continue in this fashion. 

We have done so without picking old wounds, without conflict, and all things in love. Our anxiety levels have remained low and manageable, and we walk with one another in faith.

And we have shown our faith in this time through our works, as faith without works is dead. Or to put it another way, a faith that isn't lived out is no faith at all.

Transition Expectations by Pastor Luke

I have had the privilege and honor to be your associate pastor for about a year now.

I am proud to say that I served under and learned from Rev Bill and the staff he has put together.

In the many meetings since his death, I have learned many things from the ministry team and their knowledge, experience, and history with this church. Susan Rowland Miller and Al Palmer have really helped me understand the need and process of transitions in new ways.They also pointed out that there are at least two experiences and expectations of transitions held in this congregation.

On one hand we have the "old guard" here at Sylvania. They were here when The Rev. Sanford Souers was here and experienced the last transition to Pastor Bill. Al notes that it took a matter of months to find both Pastor Souers and Pastor Bill. So the old guard knows what they want, who they are, and who they want (as in what type) as pastor.

On the other hand we have people who came from Pilgrim church (whom I’ll call “Pilgrim People” here, for the sake of brevity). They have had a bad experience in their last transition and do not have a whole lot of confidence in consultants.

Thus we have two competing expectations in our congregation.

I think the route that is being taken now is a good middle ground for these two views on transition. It makes sure that the work that needs to get done get's done. That way we are not jumping into anything, but that we're clear on who we are and what we want. I think this will appease the Pilgrim People yet the process is fast; much faster than the traditional interim process which will make the Sylvania "old guard" feel comfortable.

I have full confidence in this process mainly because I have full confidence in our people here. Both Pilgrim People and Sylvania OG's as well as those who don't fit in either category are smart people open to new ideas and ways of doing things. That will serve us in the coming weeks and months ahead. I am really excited to see what this brings!

-Luke

A quick note: It is not my intention to say we have two separate congregations and there is some division between those who came from Pilgrim and those who have been life-long Sylvania members. I have not experienced any divide nor do I see any difference.

We are one congregation and that has been my experience from the start.

What I was trying to point out was the past histories we all bring to the table. To get anywhere, we must acknowledge what we're expecting in the present moment and that stems from where we have been in the past.

There is no them and us, there is only us with our diverse histories within this shared experience of this transition.