There was a bowl of dirt on the communion table on Sunday. It was there to remind us of the central place of the land in ancient Israel and in scripture – and the importance of land today. It is truly a gift from God, in more ways than one. We – Island United Church – own some undeveloped property, and we are thoughtfully dealing with the possibilities of what to do with it in order to further ministry and mission in our community. At the Partners in Building meeting in Long Beach, sponsored by the Church Building & Loan Fund, which Jan Grohe and I attended last week, it was strongly emphasized that churches regularly go to the questions of “what?” and “how?” before the critical and foundational question of “why?”
Why are we are church? Why are we followers of Jesus? Why are we here? Why will this matter? Why does God call us to use what we have for love and justice? Why? Why dirt? Answering these questions takes willingness to develop vision – vision for an uncertain future, just as Jeremiah had to do with the field at Anathoth (Jer 32:6-15).
Take a prayer walk around the field and ask yourself – why?
Peace and grace,
Pastor Carol