From the Interim Pastor

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.
Proverbs 29.18

I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your youth shall see visions,
and your elders dream dreams.
Acts 2.17-18

The Scriptures speak of the value of vision in shaping the people of God. Mired in Egypt, God provided a vision for a way out that became a story not only of the Hebrew people but many others, as American slaves, who needed the hope of an alternative future to their present predicament. The Spirit of God provides the church with the capacity to see and envision a future that might not yet be here for us but could be as we set our hearts, minds, and strength in God to take us there. Not every vision or future conceived is of God. Not every shortfall of a church is a problem easily solved, as if were a nail simply to be hammered. Some require us to reframe how we are describing what we see. We are living far past the American Protestant ascendancy of the 1950’s when Presbyterian congregations swelled. The culture has shifted; have we adapted, or are we trying to do things the way we remember they used to work? We may have to ask others to tell us what they see and think and hope about the church’s future. We may have to look at how God sees our future. That is where “holy conversation” is necessary that draws us into an intentional time of reflection. From such intentional reflection, we develop a picture, a vision, a story of Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green into which we desire to walk.

To start, I asked the session to pick five of the wisest and most thoughtful persons who could help us “dream” with the help of God’s Spirit about this congregation’s future. Twenty-four persons were suggested, with some close ties, so that the highest six were selected to be a core team of persons to lead this congregation in thinking about our future. The “Dream Team” includes Eve Space, Ginny Anderson, Janice Fulton, John Bonnet, Susan Turnbull, and Scott Maciag. I ask your prayers and respect for their commitment. We begin in January to map out a process for conversations within the congregation, about our community, and about God’s purpose for this church in the 21st century. It will take months and it must be so. With slightly over 200 members on the rolls, 50-60 in worship, and church expenditures greatly exceeding church income, we need to look at what we are doing and where we are headed so as to not be out sync with our location and era (2010) and God’s mission. Our options are many. We need to take time to think, talk, and pray with one another. Margaret Wheatley adds: “There is no power equal to a community discovering what it cares about.” Alice Mann put it this way, “Planning helps people to risk making a commitment to a purpose that is sufficiently compelling to bring faithful change,” adding, “It is not the plan that will change people and give direction to the congregation. It is the conversation of the people with one another and with God—that is a part of the planning process—that changes people.”

Be part of this conversation in 2009. We all need to talk with each other and to God about a new chapter in the life of Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green this year. Pray for me; pray for the team; pray the congregation.

God bless you, God bless Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green, with courage, faith, and hope in the new year.

The Rev. Robert Foltz-Morrison
Interim Pastor
Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green

Past messages from the Interim Pastor:
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009