Do you need to talk about the struggles and fears, to process some grief and lament, so you can find the sacred spaciousness to again embrace hope, the unexpected and the new things?
Do you need to do a pre-mortem to imagine the most unwanted outcomes, so that you can process fears and work for desired outcomes.
An executive minister offered these words to his regions “We are all struggling. We are all facing an uncertain future. Congregations that are running out of money, others who are running out of people. Disciples who are unsure how to speak to their friends and neighbours about faith because they are worried about being painted with a particular brand of Christianity that is antithetical to the one, we offer. Communities of faith that are struggling to find ministry leadership with a dwindling pool of possible ministers. Church buildings that take up all our time and resources, making it harder and harder to focus on actual ministry The birth of Christ offers us a chance to turn a new page and prepare for something unexpected and new.” (Éric Hébert-Daly)
It is good to share our realities, not to bring us down, but to know we are all in this together. Each other’s stories lift us up in hope and the reminder of what our faith means for us.
