JULY: A MONTH FOR DISCERNMENT

Dear Friends in Christ:

Summer is for most of us a season for shifting gears, for some changes in our schedules, for vacations. We often slow down in the summer and take time to do things that we couldn’t find time for during the rest of the year.

Over the past few months, there have been discussions at Vestry meetings about how we might come to a clearer of the parish’s mission. Are there new mission challenges arising from changes in the wider community? Are there gifts that new members have that could be exercised in new mission ventures? Are there areas of mission that once were important to us but no longer seem right to us? Are there parts of the ministry of the parish that are very important and simply need a bout more attention?

These are all important questions that cannot be answered by the Vestry alone – and certainly not by the Rector! They are questions which we can only answer together. These are also questions which can’t be answered quickly. Discovering the direction that God wants to lead us takes time and thought and prayer. The discerning of God’s call to us will take months, but I think that summer is a good time to begin.

At 9 A.M. each Sunday in July you are invited to meet with me and others in Morrell Hall for coffee and conversation about our mission. I expect that there will be some who can only join the conversation once or twice, and that’s fine. I expect that there are others who want to be part of the conversation but can’t be with us in July. There will be other opportunities and I would welcome e-mails or letters about our mission.

Here are some questions that can help us to begin this conversation:

1.      What are three wonderful things about St. Matthias Church that you would want to share with a visitor/newcomer?

2.      What have been your best experiences at St. Matthias Church?

3.      What excites you about being a member of St. Matthias Church?

4.      What do we do very well as a congregation?

5.      What are the things that we could be doing better?

6.      What new area(s) of ministry would you like to see us take on?

I look forward to some lively conversation in July.

Your elder brother,

Daniel