Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Unrevealed Until its Season


I am getting so excited! Things are really starting to get going around here! God’s timing may not have been my timing, but the timing feels perfect. Here’s what’s been happening or is coming soon for New Day UMC:

10 of our 14 Connectional Churches gathered together for an update on events last Saturday. 30 clergy and lay folk were 1) affirmed for all their support thus far, 2) informed and motivated by presentations from our District Superintendent and our Director of Congregational Development, and 3) inspired by testimonies from a colleague, a lay person, and a real live Big Lake family. We wrote prayers of support for the people of New Day, and we gasped at Wish Lists that are definitely beyond the capacity of any single church (but not beyond the capacity of God working through all of us!). The light of the world (a Christmas votive) was sent back with each church as a symbol of our hope, unity, and connection together. Please pray that all of these other United Methodist congregations may be used and blessed in mighty ways as they commit more of themselves to reaching out for Jesus.

This coming Saturday (1/24) will mark the formal start of our official Launch Team. For 6 months I have struggled over pulling this group together. But relationships cannot be rushed, and commitments cannot be forced. Calls this week have miraculously revealed that NOW the time is right. So far, 7 people have stepped forward from the community to take on the intense, messy, exciting challenges of launching this new faith community. Please pray for these first faithful responders as they answer this call of Christ’s.

Our space received the city council’s nod-of-approval earlier this month, and so build-out has begun. We’ve been choosing carpeting, paint, lighting, doors, and much more. The basic framing has gone up like a magical outline of what will be. In two short months, we may be ready to move in! Please pray for all those “temple builders” and the holy work that will take place within those walls.

Our first Pre-Launch Service has been scheduled as an Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 11th. We will mark the start of New Day with a celebration of the resurrection itself. Baptisms and a consecrating of the space will bless this budding community, and the extended Christian community will be invited to witness to their support. We’ll then be ramping up the worship schedule through the summer, with regular, weekly services kicking in right after Labor Day. Please pray for vibrant worship to be our norm, and encounters with the living Lord to be commonplace at these services.

All of this and more has me ........ well ........ excited! And I hope it has you excited too! I feel like the song on page 707 of our UM Hymnal is talking about us: In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree; in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody; there’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me. From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. (Hymn of Promise, words and music by Natalie Sleeth, 1986). Wonder and awe fill me as I witness these divine promises emerging before my eyes. A new day IS dawning from the darkness, and I AM filled with hope. How about you?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It IS exciting, my friend!!
I am so excited for you and the new community you will (and ARE) blessing!
You can count on me to be there for the Easter Vigil service!
I’m putting it on my calendar.

Anonymous said...

Hey Jim,

Wonderful! Inspiring! Exciting!

You and Big Lake are in my prayers.

Anonymous said...

“The Hymn of Promise” It is my favorite. Some days I feel than I am in a cocoon. A cocoon, I don’t know if I’ll be a butterfly or a moth, both a beautiful in Gods eyes. And both will require a change from being a cocoon. The winter is cold, longer days and seed catalogs both promise a new spring.