"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
-- excerpted from "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
by Robert Frost
by Robert Frost
Promises! Promise making and keeping is where I find myself living most of my life. I know that I'm not alone in this. Most of us live with the promises that we make and break to our families and friends, spouses, partners, our employers, our churches, ourselves, etc. and etc.
I know that I'm not alone, but I also know that my particular job places me in the midst of the promises that we make to each other and to God within and between our congregations and various settings of the church. My job is to uphold, remind us of and support us in our mutual promise making and keeping.
Although this is not an easy task, I take this on willingly, even joyfully and hopefully in hopes of helping to strengthen our life, ministry and mission together in the name of our Savior Jesus. In fact I rarely think of how difficult this job is until I am reminded. (I think this is an understatement, since it seems as though I am reminded often!)
For instance I was having lunch with a group of clergy from the Utica/Rome area of the Oneida Association this past Tuesday. We were discussing Sunday's Oneida Association Fall meeting in Rome. At this meeting our Conference Minister, Geoffrey Black, asked us to consider our experiences of the wider church, how our local churches relate with one another, the Association and the Conference. Part of this discussion involved reflecting on the proposed Oneida Association Mission Statement.
The Mission Statement focuses on the strengthening of our mutual covenant as congregations. One participant in the discussion was heard to say, "This 'covenant talk' is a bunch of gobbledygook!" At our luncheon meeting we discussed this at length, how the language that we use in congregational life is becoming increasingly meaningless to a growing number of parishioners. 'Covenant' is one of those words.
I've thought a lot about this. It's not the first time I've run up against folks -- good, longstanding church leaders -- who simply don't understand or accept the word or the concept of 'covenant'. For some the word seems old fashioned or quaint, and therefore somewhat foreign. For others the meaning of the word is clear, but its the very meaning that is objectionable. That is, the idea that we have commitments to others beyond ourselves is abhorrent. In UCC circles we most often hear this expressed, "We're an autonomous church (read independent) and no one can tell us what to do!"
Still, I have this notion, this eternal hope really, that the concept of covenant is not dead or passe in our church life. In fact I know that covenant is at the very heart of our understanding of the Church within the United Church of Christ. Covenant is the glue that binds us together and that frees us to live out Christ's call in mission. Our covenant with God and one another entails the promises that we make and endeavor to keep.
Too often in our life within the church we forget about these promises. It's like we're there with Robert Frost reveling in the peace and quiet, the elegantly simple beauty of that wood on a snowy evening (forgive this too early reference to the onset of another winter!!!). So, we're there and we are enjoying the moment, all of it. And we don't want to leave or move.
But then, we begin to think, if only we had another blanket we could stay longer in the cold. Or, we consider that it's a long ride to where we're going, so we'd better check the condition of the wagon wheels and whether or not the horse is warm and well fed enough. We consider these things for a long time...to the point that we forget where we were going in the first place.
In our church life whether at a meeting of a local church's trustees or an association council we too often get hung up on budget, on how much if anything we might be able to spare. We love maintenance, making certain that the floors are well polished, that the toilet paper dispensers are full, that the doors have good locks on them, that the nursery attendants pick up all the toys before they leave.
(In my first pastorate the church had an emergency need to replace the roof on a major section of the building. The cost of the new roof was equal to the salary of the janitor and the associate pastors [me!]. They had enough money to pay for two out of the three budget lines. What to do? Lets say that I saw the handwriting on the wall. They needed the roof and the janitor kept the floors so shiny you could see your reflection in them. I submitted my resignation.)
We love talking about maintenance. But, what if we remembered that we have promises to keep? What if our trustees and deacons considered that as Christians we have all promised to follow Jesus in caring for widows and children, visiting the sick and freeing the imprisoned and the oppressed?
That is, what if we began every board and committee meeting not only with prayer, but also with some study and discussion of what the needs of our children (for instance) are. How can we best nurture them in the faith, build up family life, work keep them safe, help with childcare, or after school care, with tutoring? How can we make room for our children in our building, in our ministry in our life together? What if, we started there before considering the budget?
Of course, we need to be responsible. We need to be good stewards of our money. But more, we need to consider how to be faithful to the promises that we have made to promote the mission and ministry of Christ. We have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep, and that's the truth. And, lest we forget, we have this covenant...
Blessings,
Rick Cowles
I know that I'm not alone, but I also know that my particular job places me in the midst of the promises that we make to each other and to God within and between our congregations and various settings of the church. My job is to uphold, remind us of and support us in our mutual promise making and keeping.
Although this is not an easy task, I take this on willingly, even joyfully and hopefully in hopes of helping to strengthen our life, ministry and mission together in the name of our Savior Jesus. In fact I rarely think of how difficult this job is until I am reminded. (I think this is an understatement, since it seems as though I am reminded often!)
For instance I was having lunch with a group of clergy from the Utica/Rome area of the Oneida Association this past Tuesday. We were discussing Sunday's Oneida Association Fall meeting in Rome. At this meeting our Conference Minister, Geoffrey Black, asked us to consider our experiences of the wider church, how our local churches relate with one another, the Association and the Conference. Part of this discussion involved reflecting on the proposed Oneida Association Mission Statement.
The Mission Statement focuses on the strengthening of our mutual covenant as congregations. One participant in the discussion was heard to say, "This 'covenant talk' is a bunch of gobbledygook!" At our luncheon meeting we discussed this at length, how the language that we use in congregational life is becoming increasingly meaningless to a growing number of parishioners. 'Covenant' is one of those words.
I've thought a lot about this. It's not the first time I've run up against folks -- good, longstanding church leaders -- who simply don't understand or accept the word or the concept of 'covenant'. For some the word seems old fashioned or quaint, and therefore somewhat foreign. For others the meaning of the word is clear, but its the very meaning that is objectionable. That is, the idea that we have commitments to others beyond ourselves is abhorrent. In UCC circles we most often hear this expressed, "We're an autonomous church (read independent) and no one can tell us what to do!"
Still, I have this notion, this eternal hope really, that the concept of covenant is not dead or passe in our church life. In fact I know that covenant is at the very heart of our understanding of the Church within the United Church of Christ. Covenant is the glue that binds us together and that frees us to live out Christ's call in mission. Our covenant with God and one another entails the promises that we make and endeavor to keep.
Too often in our life within the church we forget about these promises. It's like we're there with Robert Frost reveling in the peace and quiet, the elegantly simple beauty of that wood on a snowy evening (forgive this too early reference to the onset of another winter!!!). So, we're there and we are enjoying the moment, all of it. And we don't want to leave or move.
But then, we begin to think, if only we had another blanket we could stay longer in the cold. Or, we consider that it's a long ride to where we're going, so we'd better check the condition of the wagon wheels and whether or not the horse is warm and well fed enough. We consider these things for a long time...to the point that we forget where we were going in the first place.
In our church life whether at a meeting of a local church's trustees or an association council we too often get hung up on budget, on how much if anything we might be able to spare. We love maintenance, making certain that the floors are well polished, that the toilet paper dispensers are full, that the doors have good locks on them, that the nursery attendants pick up all the toys before they leave.
(In my first pastorate the church had an emergency need to replace the roof on a major section of the building. The cost of the new roof was equal to the salary of the janitor and the associate pastors [me!]. They had enough money to pay for two out of the three budget lines. What to do? Lets say that I saw the handwriting on the wall. They needed the roof and the janitor kept the floors so shiny you could see your reflection in them. I submitted my resignation.)
We love talking about maintenance. But, what if we remembered that we have promises to keep? What if our trustees and deacons considered that as Christians we have all promised to follow Jesus in caring for widows and children, visiting the sick and freeing the imprisoned and the oppressed?
That is, what if we began every board and committee meeting not only with prayer, but also with some study and discussion of what the needs of our children (for instance) are. How can we best nurture them in the faith, build up family life, work keep them safe, help with childcare, or after school care, with tutoring? How can we make room for our children in our building, in our ministry in our life together? What if, we started there before considering the budget?
Of course, we need to be responsible. We need to be good stewards of our money. But more, we need to consider how to be faithful to the promises that we have made to promote the mission and ministry of Christ. We have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep, and that's the truth. And, lest we forget, we have this covenant...
Blessings,
Rick Cowles
No comments:
Post a Comment