The Church of Today, the Church of the Future
A few weeks back in my sermon I alluded to the fact that all churches right now are essentially church plants. A church plant is a brand new baby church. We were once a plant from Christ Church, and then we "planted" St. Michael's, El Segundo. As we continue on with COVID in our lives, mostly back to living our lives -- but in new ways -- churches are asking ourselves many questions.
- What is most important to us?
- What are the needs of the community around us?
- How can we best do what we are called to do?
In short, leadership and communities are taking stock of what we can do and asking what should we be doing at this time. Church isn't going to look the same as we move forward. It isn't a complete change. Rather, we are discerning change for what works for our community at this time, in this place. You noticed we didn't have an Easter Brunch this year. Yes, mostly because of COVID, and when asked if it will come back the response of our leadership is, "Do we need to be doing this and, if so, who is going to do this?"
The Vestry in our work this year has some guidelines to help us make decisions. We know we are a community that serves others as a sign of God's love. We also know that our main focus in the years to come is restoring God's people to a deeper relationship with God. If we are talking about Christian Education... is it important to us? Yes. Is there a need for moral, ethical, faith based teaching? Yes! Does Christian Education help us deepen our relationship with God? YES!! How can we best meet the needs for Sunday Christian Education? This is just an example of how we are listening and discerning how we move forward in the next few years.
We will be trying some new things, like Choral Evensong this Sunday or free donuts on Easter! Some of these will become new norms, some will fail. And that is OK. As long as we stay focused on restoration, deepening our faith, and working on our relationship with God, then we will know we are on the right track.
So when you see changes, ask about them. Join us for new ministry opportunities as they arise. Say yes when asked and allow your faith to become even stronger.
Peace,
Rachel+
