Moving Forward . . . Slowly

Why am I not surprised that I woke up this morning with aches and sneezes and sniffles? I'm scheduled to teach Bible stories and sing songs with our preschool students this morning, but it is my policy to stay away from humans as much as possible when I have or may have something contagious. Too many of my folks are either very young, very old or have lowered immune systems for other reasons - so, I need to stay away from the church again today. An opportunity for gratitude - Thank you, God, for making me rest another day.

I wonder a bit where to begin the process of moving forward into the next 49 years. I know my longer term goal - to participate in our denominational revitalization process. First I have to present it to the Board and get their commitment to the project - then to the congregation.

Meanwhile - The church Board has decreed that this will be a time for encouraging our members to "Grow One" (percent) in their giving. How timely, therefore, that Sunday's lectionary reading has Jesus telling the wealthy young man to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor. So preaching on stewardship would be pretty much a no-brainer.

Or - At the Jubilee worship we were invited to write down our dreams for the future of our church and offer those dreams. Another good starting place. That same passage from Mark encourages the disciples to make following him their priority. The disciples in my congregation can be invited to make their combined dream for our future together a priority - not just something written down and forgotten.

Too bad the sneezes and sniffles are making my brain fuzzy - even my computer seems to be thinking more slowly than usual.