Jubilee

Celebrating the Jubilee Year

Preparing for a Jubilee Celebration in a small congregation I find that I really have to push the members to look at this event as preparation for the future. It took weeks to finally convince my committee that a congregational Jubilee is not like a 50th wedding anniversary. Some were so focused on tracking down the charter members so their memories could be printed in the Memory Book we are producing, that it wasn't until just a few weeks ago that they understood important memories may come from as recently as last week. The worship designers got into the spirit pretty quickly - balancing age with youth, past with future. For example, our most recently baptized member, a 12 year old girl, is reading the call to worship while a participant in the very first worship service is presiding over communion.

While we will, of course, celebrate the past, we are especially looking toward the future - the next 50 years. The scriptural description of Jubilee in Leviticus 25 is a year of resting, forgiving, and preparing to move forward.

As the date of our Jubilee Celebration draws closer I find that excitement for the future is beginning to build. It is clear that we are looking toward change, but we have no idea what that change may be. Perhaps we will enter into a revitalization process, perhaps a new ministry will present itself to us, perhaps we will seek some other form of transformation. Whatever we do, I know the outcome of our attempt is in God's hands.

I invite conversation about Jubilee, transformation and revitilization.
Rev Maria