|
I preached last Sunday on the Ascension and am in the midst of preparing a sermon for Pentecost. Last week I talked about Karl Barth’s designation of this time period between the Ascension and Pentecost as “The Significant Pause”. The disciples knew something new and different was coming but they weren’t sure what it was. They knew they had a task, to be witnesses for Jesus, but they didn’t know how that would unfold. They were assured they would be given power and a presence to guide them along the way to an unknown future.
As I reflect on where we are as a presbytery it seems to me, we are in a similar place. With our ongoing work with Ministry Architects, we know we have a similar task to be witnesses for Jesus, but we know that something new and different is coming and we’re not sure what that will be.
Our upcoming presbytery meeting promises to be impactful to our unknown future as we hear from Mark Devries of Ministry Architects. He will share the results of work that has been done for the past several months after numerous listening sessions, a two-day visioning retreat, and several follow-up conversations with various groups in May. I hope that you will be able to prioritize attendance at the June 1 meeting of Presbytery. In addition, we will hear from the Financial Requests Task Force and examine a candidate for ordination.
As a reminder, we will meet on Saturday, June 1 at Central Presbyterian Church in Russellville at 10:00 am. Registration will begin at 9:30 am. You can register for the meeting here. The packet will be posted at the end of next week on the Presbytery’s website (presbyark.org). For those that can’t attend the meeting, we plan to livestream the meeting on Central Presbyterian’s Youtube Channel. We will post that link on the presbytery’s website with the packet.
Whenever we are faced with such important decisions, anxiety about the unknown and how we will move into that uncertain future is normal. I imagine the disciples felt it during that “significant pause”. But I assure you that we have access to the same Holy Spirit that guides and empowers us. And we have great resources in talented, faithful, committed Christians across this presbytery. I look forward to being with many of you in Russellville on June 1, as we continue to discern where the Spirit will lead us in the coming weeks and months!!!
Stewart |
