We’ve now been having dinner together as a faith community for several weeks and it’s been really lovely. There is a flow to the conversation; We check in and catch up as we gather, then we talk about the question of the day while we eat, and finally over dessert we share the ways that we can be present to one another in the coming week. It’s an amazing time of connection and honest conversation. The things that people share and the ways that bonds have formed take my breath away in their depth and holiness. Sometimes we have more people, sometimes we have less. And sometimes we have awkward moments as we talk. But that is what make it even better- it’s real. We as people are awkward and busy and our dinners reflect that. God is in the ordinariness of life and we definitely see that here.
As we’ve stepped in to the dinners it’s getting harder to juggle everything else we are doing as a faith community We have a small group of participants, but it seems like everyone has a favorite thing. In fact the reason we’ve started each event is because someone was excited about it. But it’s time to refine. We need to let go of some of the things we’ve started so we as leaders aren’t stretched too thin and we’re not diluting our connection with one another. In fact what I’m finding is that we constantly have to think about what we are doing and how effective it is. And that is hard. I like taize, but we’re taking the summer off. It’s amazing how even 10 months in I’m already attached to how we do things. I’m a creature of habit and structure. So I have to take time on a regular basis to evaluate our faith community critically. Now the thing is just because something worked in the past doesn’t mean it will work in the future. Also it sometimes take awhile for something to get off the ground. We have to be agile and responsive, not in a willy-nilly way, but in relationship to the way God is developing this new community.
If our goal is to create connections or reach new people how are the things we are doing working towards that? Am I as a leader taking enough time to nourish my own soul and spirit so that I can be responsive to the developing call of God? Are people in the faith community responding and growing? Are people outside the faith community becoming aware of our work? These are the questions Jeff and I talk about at our staff meetings. We’re in a season of change as we transition to summer and the new possibilities our growing faith community offers. Please continue to hold us in prayer as we listen, adjust, and move as people of God.
-Eilidh
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