PASTOR'S MONTHLY ARTICLE

A man from the back mountains of Tennessee found himself one day in a large city, for the first time standing outside an elevator. He watched as an old, haggard woman hobbled on, and the doors closed. A few minutes later the doors opened, and a young, attractive woman marched smartly off. The father hollered to his youngest son, "Billy, go get mother."  There are times when change is wished for!

And then there are times when change is the only option.  Perhaps you recall Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion: “Everything continues in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it.”  Let me be clear: I certainly do not believe that this congregation was in a state of rest prior to May 1, 2022.  Faith Lutheran was active in God’s mission and in ministry in this community.  However, with the retirement of Pastor Riggle, change became a reality.  We are in a period of transition.

Change may be difficult and create some challenges, but I like to think that it opens up all sorts of new opportunities.  It gives us a chance to reflect on how we do ministry.  What are the strengths in this community of faith?  What has been working?  Is it time to let go of some of the ways we have functioned?  Are there ways we can and should re-focus our ministry?  And, perhaps one of the most difficult things about change, is it time to celebrate who we are right now in the present rather than longing for the way it used to be in the past?

The reality is that our culture has changed dramatically over the years.  A recent article states: “The secularizing shifts evident in American society so far in the 21st century show no signs of slowing. The latest Pew Research Center survey of the religious composition of the United States finds the religiously unaffiliated share of the public is 6 percentage points higher than it was five years ago and 10 points higher than a decade ago.”  The headline for that article states that “About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated.”  (Pew Research Center, December 14, 2021) I think it is safe to say that those that consider themselves “religiously affiliated” aren’t necessarily attending worship services regularly – that is as we might define it.  I would suggest that the trends in our area are probably close to those national trends.

So, what does that mean for us during this transition period and beyond?  There is nothing wrong with hoping and praying for a revival as such, looking forward to a time when there will be more people filling our pews on any given Sunday morning.  But we can’t get stuck there, living with a sense of anxiety about the future of Faith Lutheran!  Rather, we should celebrate the ministry in which we are engaged, serving a particular segment of the population.  And we can look for new and exciting ways to enhance that ministry.  While doing that we can still find ways to reach out to other segments of the population as well, i.e., young families, single adults, etc.

I look forward to the next few months as the call committee begins its work.  Part of that process will be reaching out to members of the congregation to help us determine what the future will look like.  What gifts will we be looking for in our new settled pastor?  What particular gifts does this congregation bring to ministry in our community?

I invite you into the most important part of this process.  I ask that you spend time in prayer for this congregation, for the call committee and council leadership as, together, we discern God’s will and ask for God’s guidance.

Pastor Steve Bovendam

Interim Pastor