Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Here and now...December 21, 2011
Here and Now*…a weekly letter from Pastor David Loar Dec 21, 2011
A few days before Christmas I turn 63. The number has some significance. It is 5 years older than my dad was when he died. Yet, he seems to me to be older and wiser than I am/was. I am the oldest pastor to ever serve Fairlawn Community Church which started in 1946 and Fairlawn West United Church of Christ which merged in 1972. I suspect I am also one of the oldest in the vein of the former West Congregational Church which started in 1888. When I arrived here in 1995 my children were the youngest of any pastor of Fairlawn Community/Fairlawn West. My tenure now at 16+ years is the 3rd longest in the combined history of the congregation since 1888. With all of that said...I don't feel that old!
I have realized though for the past few years that my ability to envision and imagine ministry in the times we are in is not as "native" as it use to be. That is, I have the passion for ministry in this time, but my ability to see it clearly is not as it was a decade ago. I can visit any number of churches serving younger people on the internet and see what they are doing and then wonder how we could do those things here. But then, I am just the older man trying to copy things of younger folks. That doesn't mean that we do not do ministry for older folks. The world, though, that we older folks live in has drastically changed as well. And yet, our minds are grooved deeply in the way things were. If we did church as we did it 10 years ago we would not even be serving ourselves let alone so many others who are seeking meaning, purpose, spirit and God in their lives.
It is very clear that this congregation is not what it was 10 years ago. I am heartened by that. The average age of this congregation has gone down I figure around 10 years over the last 5 years. There are so many of you who are new from other experiences of life and world. And there are other folks coming seemingly every Sunday to experience worship as we do it and to join mission as God has called us to serve. So, how do we begin to use all these new and varying resources that are now among us?
For me the issue is not "how do we strengthen this church?". It is "how do we grow and shape this present community of believers in and followers of Jesus Christ?". That excites me. It is calling forth rather than retrenching in. It is the image of new wine in new wineskins rather than being in old wineskins which bursts open and sours the flavor of the wine. Jesus came up with that one!
There are times I realize and am forced to acknowledge that I am part of the "religious establishment" that Jesus confronted in his day. I have tried for years to deny that, but no matter what, as a "church professional" it is the case. That doesn't mean I am outside the circle of followers of Jesus. As much as he railed against and confronted the religious establishment, there were some such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea who were able to transcend their roles in the establishment and be of service or support of Jesus. My hunch is that Jesus is not primarily in the church these days, but he can use the church. The body of Christ is both in the church and far beyond the church.
Ready, set, go. Its time. Whoever we are and wherever we are...we have a purpose in the ministry of Christ called by God to this time and place.
Just a few reminders...
Christmas Eve worship service Saturday, December 24th 7:30 pm
No worship service Sunday, Christmas, December 25th...but a day to celebrate the incarnation of God coming to us as one of us.
David Loar will be on vacation December 25-30. The Rev. Tom Gerstenlauer of Miller Ave UCC will be on call. 330-854-4354.
New Thursday evenings "Bible reading and reflection group" begins on 12th Night, January 5, 2012, at 6:30 pm in the parlor.
Grace and peace,
David Loar
Pastor of Fairlawn West United Church of Christ, Akron, Ohio
*(The title for this weekly letter to the congregation of Fairlawn West UCC is the life and mission of Jesus Christ. Albert Schweitzer described it this way: "He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lakeside; He came to those…who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same word: 'Follow thou me!' and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is.")
