How do you learn? If you don’t know something how do you find out the information? If you aren’t where you want to be in regards to speaking another language, fostering a deeper faith, or acquiring a skill how do you proceed?
In the journey of planting a new church and facilitating the creative collaboration between Sellwood and Trinity that is the Parish so many times people have said to me that they have no idea how to do these kinds of things. And the truth is I don’t really either. To get here I have read books, attended trainings, prayed, asked questions, and talked a lot with my husband Jeff and other leaders of our community.
With my work on the school board it took me about 6 months to learn the ins and outs of meeting protocol, work flow, and the big issues we had to tackle. I had never helped run a levy campaign before, never heard a complaint hearing, nor approved a labor contract. I had to pay close attention in meetings, read diligently our board packets, and not be embarrassed to ask questions when I didn’t understand.
Learning can be hard. How do you ask about what you don’t know? One example was my first year at a church when the week before Easter someone asked me about the Easter Egg hunt. I had no idea that church did a such a thing, nor that I was expected to make it happen! Now when I begin at a church I have a list of questions I ask, trying to find out what I don’t know.
I firmly believe learning and growth are our responsibility. No one is going to tell us how to do things or what to expect in life. We get to spend our existing trying new things, asking big questions, and finding new paths. It’s okay not to know, it’s okay not to be able to do certain things. It’s not about being a know-it-all or a jack-of-all trades, but rather rejoicing in the continuing expansion of our world view and experiences. One of my favorite things about being a pastor is I’m constantly learning and finding God in new ways.
-Eilidh
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