On September 8th over twenty of us gathered to reflect on who we are as the people of this church. We were guided in our conversation by Rev. Wendee Nitz, who did a fantastic job of… inviting us to celebrate our successes, name our dreams and confront our challenges. I was encouraged by the presence of several “new” voices in our midst and also by the continued commitment of people who have long recognized the value our church has and for their desire to maintain that same value for future generations.
We recognized very quickly that in this day and age communication is the key to everything we do. From our church website to our weekly bulletins; from our monthly Connections to our Facebook page…even how we converse with one another on Sunday morning, both in worship and over coffee…all of these are vital to our growth and to our mission. Not to mention simply understanding one another! This will be a continued area of focus as we move ahead in ministry.
We also settled on three key points regarding how we interact with one another. We spoke of meeting people at their point of need. Now all of us have needs. Sometimes our need is to receive something (a job, a meal, a helping hand, etc.) and sometimes our need is to be able to offer something (our helping hands, our voices, our friendship, etc.). The same is true for every new person that walks through our door. And the only way we’re going to know what their needs are is to talk to them! Sounds simple enough but it does require some effort. We have to take the first step to welcome someone new and go beyond simply saying “hello”. There’s nothing like an invitation to sit next to someone in worship or even an invite to lunch after to make someone feel welcome.
Once we know something about someone we’ll be better prepared to engage them as they are ready. This can be as simple as inviting someone whose wonderful voice you’ve admired as they sang in the congregation to consider joining the choir. It can be recognizing that someone has a real heart for people and thus they might be the perfect person to introduce to Bread & Jam. Or their particular skills might be just what we need on our Trustees Team. The trick is in asking folks not to do what they are unable or unsuited to do but instead to invite them to do what they will excel at.
The last point is the idea of sharing mutual ministry. What’s mutual ministry? Well, pretty much everything we do! When it comes to ministry neither Pastor Kelly nor I want to do everything. What we do want to do is to help guide and empower all of you, bringing out and affirming each of your unique gifts so that together they will benefit the whole. That’s the sign of a vital congregation…one in which everyone is doing what they are good at, with the understanding that all of their pieces together make up who we are as Bay View United Methodist Church.
So let’s get to work!
Pastor Andy