O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as Thou wilt, and when, and where,
Until Thy blessed face I see,
Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share!
Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879)
What can I say to adequately describe the sheer joy of gathering with so many of you on March 24th as you and the churches of the Pilgrim Association commemorated our first anniversary by installing me as your Pastor and Teacher. The music was amazing (of course). The reception was a labor of love. The words and deeds of that whole day will reside in my heart forever. Thank you. All of you. I am honored and I am proud to be in this ministry with you.
There was a pleasing symmetry to installing me on our anniversary. What I found to be both intriguing and revealing was how hard it was to schedule! Last Spring seemed too soon. Last Fall was too full. The holidays were too hectic so we set our sights on January – the anniversary of the weekend I came to Cohasset as your ministerial Candidate. So many players and so many moving pieces so soon after Christmas in the darkest days of winter moved us to rethink that.
March seemed safe. We couldn’t possibly have another set of 100 year storms so soon. And, of course, we didn’t. The storms came in February… moving the Polar Plunge to the same day as the Health & Rec Fair and, of course, the Installation. No problem. They only overlap a little bit. And SCC folks are remarkable multi-taskers.
Which brings me to the point of this little reflection. Trying to fit too many tasks into too little time is tiring. It can take the fun out of things we would otherwise love doing. But trying not to over-commit has its downsides, too. We miss opportunities.
For me, that is the challenge of our next year together. How shall we spend our precious, irreplaceable time with one another? What work is most important for us to be doing – to support one another, to strengthen the ties that bind us together as a church family, to build momentum into our efforts to welcome friends and strangers, to reach the lost and alone, to teach and learn from spiritual seekers at every stage of the journey and to grow as God would have us grow…
What are our priorities? And what are not? What are the things that we can let go without losing the essence of “us?”
In Lent, we often practice the art of letting go. In Holy Week, we ponder the lengths to which Jesus will go for us. And in Easter, there dawns the promise of what the future may hold… can hold if we but follow the Spirit’s lead.
As Spring begins to burst forth around us, my budding dream is for us to take root and to blossom as God’s Easter People: resurrected to new life in Christ and inspired to new life as Christ’s church.
Every blessing,
Pastor Karen