April 11: Playing “52 Card Pick Up” with Our Ministries
“We are called to be a school of redemption, a concert of testimony. God is calling us to let our boat be shaken. It is time for us to let go of those things that are not working .”
Based on the sermon of February 7. . Our gospel was Luke 5: 1-11: God calls Peter to be a fisher of people. M. Mary Kate said that she had a dream that at our annual meeting we played 52-card pick up; each card would have a ministry written on it. We would pick up only those cards that named the ministries that we are joyfully connected to.
To Listen to this sermon click here:
Feb 7, 2010 Sermon
In fact, that's what we did--filled out cards with our ministries written on them. and placed them on the floor, at which point we were invited to move around the room picking up only those ministries that we felt passionately connected to.
But here's the dilemma: there are ministries that are essential to the church, especially altar guild, but also Sunday School. How do we differentiate between the need and the passion when the two are not necessarily wed to one another. And, then, there is the gap between the enthusiasm and the passion and the actual work required by a ministry. How do we deal with that.
We recognized also that we live in a culture stressed and stretched for time. Yet, our group this Sunday (the choir, as in "preaching to the choir") eagerly named other ministries that did not appear on our lists: Group Spiritual Direction, service projects, dinner groups, mental health ministries.
Another question arose: Who's in charge of saying yes or no to a new ministry? If I come to the rector with an idea for a new ministry, can't I just go ahead and do it, or must it be approved? What if I say that I want it to be just a small group of people I've already talked to?
What about the ministries I do outside the church? Don't those count, too?
Stay tuned for next week: The power and seduction of choices.
In fact, that's what we did--filled out cards with our ministries written on them. and placed them on the floor, at which point we were invited to move around the room picking up only those ministries that we felt passionately connected to.
But here's the dilemma: there are ministries that are essential to the church, especially altar guild, but also Sunday School. How do we differentiate between the need and the passion when the two are not necessarily wed to one another. And, then, there is the gap between the enthusiasm and the passion and the actual work required by a ministry. How do we deal with that.
We recognized also that we live in a culture stressed and stretched for time. Yet, our group this Sunday (the choir, as in "preaching to the choir") eagerly named other ministries that did not appear on our lists: Group Spiritual Direction, service projects, dinner groups, mental health ministries.
Another question arose: Who's in charge of saying yes or no to a new ministry? If I come to the rector with an idea for a new ministry, can't I just go ahead and do it, or must it be approved? What if I say that I want it to be just a small group of people I've already talked to?
What about the ministries I do outside the church? Don't those count, too?
Stay tuned for next week: The power and seduction of choices.
