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Elm Street Congregational Church Newsletter

A Letter from Pastor Linda
September 2011

Dear Friends,

Here it is September already and I ask myself, “Where has the summer gone?” The days are now getting a bit shorter, the air is crisp and getting cooler, and I have even seen a few leaves beginning to change. As a kid I can remember always wanting time to go by quickly. I would say, “If only I were older I could wear make-up? If only I were 16 I could get my learner’s permit. If only time would go faster.” Now that I am 63 (Bah Humbug!) I wish time would slow down a bit. It seems like Dick and I just left for China Lake for rest and rejuvenation and now I have been back for over two months.

I did have a lovely time away and it gave me an opportunity to decompress, to sit, read, knit, walk the dogs, talk to Dick, enjoy the lake, watch the eagles fly by and the loons float by, and it gave me time to pray, to reflect, and to feel close to God. Believe me when I say it is easy to feel close to God when you’re sitting on a beautiful sandy beach watching the waves lap the shore, and listening to the sounds of nature. It was heaven.

I was away for four weeks to recharge my batteries but I also spent a good deal of time thinking about and praying about our life together as the Elm Street Church. I left soon after a small group of us finished our visioning process and I felt excited that we began to craft a direction for our church. I know that there are some that feel that spending time visioning for the future is unnecessary, but please believe me when I say to all of you, visioning for the future is one of the most important things any church can do. In a changing world, we, as the church, must change with it, and we need to decide how we can make the church relevant in our community today.

I firmly believe that our future lies in your hands. You are the body of Christ, you are the voice of the church, and only you can determine where we are headed. Each one of you has a voice and it is important that you are willing to share your ideas for how we move forward. What you need to understand though is that ideas without people willing to make that idea a reality are useless. How do you see our church serving this community? What unique ministries do you want to offer that would make people looking for a church home say, “I want to go to Elm Street because they are making a difference.” How do you see us living out the Good News of Jesus Christ?” Are you willing to start a small group ministry here at our church and to run with the ball, so to speak? What gift can you offer to give our church her future? Friends, we can give lip service to ideas, or we can make them a real reality. It is up to you. Our church is getting smaller. Sadly I just recently buried another one of our long standing members, Betty Harrison. How do you propose that we bring in new people and what are you going to do to help make that happen? In today’s busy world people who are looking for a church home want to feel that they can participate in ministries that reach out to serve their community: they want to make a difference and unless we have something to offer them they will find their spirituality elsewhere.

I am challenging each one of you to become actively involved in our future. No one is too old, too young, too tired, or too busy, to do Christ’s work in this world. Not if we call ourselves Christians. Christ commanded each and every one of us to “Go out and make disciples” and Christ did not mean make disciples within the walls of the church. He meant to go out into the world, to reach out to all people and to invite them into the fellowship and life of the church.

I have said this before and I will continue to say it: A church without a vision and a commitment to make that vision a reality will cease to exist. What is our vision and how are we going to make it a reality? The challenge is to each one of us, young and old. We can either begin now to create our future, or we can sit back, do nothing, and watch our beloved church cease to exist. The choice is ours. What say you all??

With love and God’s grace,