The
Pastor's Corner
A Blessed Church
Many of you know that the leaders
of our congregation have been engaged in more intentionally trying to discern
God’s will in carrying out our calling. We are being guided in part by a book
entitled Becoming a Blessed Church,
by N. Graham Standish.
As I have read through this book I have been struck by how often the author’s
description of a “blessed church” sounds like Concord.
In a chapter entitled, “Alive to
God’s Presence,” this is what Standish says:
Becoming a blessed church means being a
church that reveals God’s presence in everything, so that people can encounter
and experience Christ in every facet of their lives.
When a church becomes truly alive to Christ, it becomes a dynamic, creative place. It may not
necessarily become a place of explosive growth, because the factors that foster
that kind of growth are not present everywhere. What does happen is that in
worship people sense Christ’s presence in their work
for the church. They form deep relationships with others in the church, and
they sense God’s love in the relationships. They struggle and suffer the pains
of life, and discover God touching and caring for them through the people of
the church. As they do, they discover that they are not only in a place of
God’s presence, but that they are living more and more according to God’s
purpose and are experiencing God’s power flowing in and through them.
We have something precious here,
in part because this congregation has adapted to changing circumstances over
our almost sixty years of existence. As we look to the future we are listening
closely for God’s direction for remaining a vital, welcoming witness to the
gospel, a place where all who enter will feel God’s presence in everything we
do.
I call on everyone to pray for
our leaders as they gather on September 25th to discern God’s
direction for next year and beyond; and for our committees as they incorporate
this sense of call into our plans.
Peace,
Fritz
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