VIENNA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | JULY 2022
THE MONTHLY MESSENGER
FROM HOPE'S HEART... Have you ever tried to eat soft-serve ice-cream on a really hot day? When my youngest daughter was three or four, our family went out for ice-cream. We placed our order that included a vanilla cone and a chocolate cone. I figured that I’d take whichever one she didn’t choose. What I didn’t bargain for was how long it was going to take her to make a choice. Long story short, it took so long that my hands were covered in melted ice-cream and she was having a complete meltdown because there was no more ice-cream left to choose from. Throughout life we all must reach important moments of decision in order to move forward in one direction or another. If we draw that decision process out too long, we stand to lose everything. This happened to the Israelites in the Book of Deuteronomy. They were standing at the precipice of the Promised Land with Moses. By this point they had escaped Egypt and had been wandering a round in the desert for quite some time. They sent a scouting party out ahead of them that brought back a favorable report. All indicators seemed to scream “go!” But, the Israelites screamed “no!” and, as a result, spent another 40 years wandering around in the desert. There is some truth to the expression “he who hesitates is lost!” This month the Elders of our church have been tasked with making some very crucial decisions that will guide the path of our congregation going forward. Whatever decisions they make will not have been done lightly or even quickly. These are decisions that have been almost a year in the making. Our congregation has pulled together and given countless hours to share our hearts and dreams for the future of this church. Everyone was asked to contribute their thoughts and opinions through various surveys, focus groups, church-wide invitations to speak directly to our Transformation Teams, emails, phone calls, and Narthex conversations. At the June Session meeting, the leaders of the Transformation Teams (teams that represent the breadth and depth of our congregation) presented the elders with a proposed Vision and Mission Statement and a new staff
organizational structure to support that mission and vision --one that was born out of the voice and leading of the ENTIRE congregation by the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, this month, the elders must decide if we move forward with the proposed Vision and Mission Statement and the new organizational staffing structure or if we are to stay the course of our current trajectory. Our Elders have been preparing for this period for months now. They have been in deep prayer and discernment. And now the time has come to make some choices. Church, sometimes making a choice is hard because you know that to say “yes” to something, often means saying “no” to something else. Very few of us like to hear the word “no” and so we’re not always eager to be the ones to say it either. And yet, this deep work of faith is what the Elders --- the spiritual leaders of the church --- are called to do. As a church family, we owe them a debt of gratitude for their willingness to serve in this crucial moment. This month, I’d like to call our entire church family to prayer: for our Elders, for our pastors, for our staff, for our church. And then I’d like for each of us to prepare ourselves for this new chapter of ministry that is about to be unleashed! That preparation involves the soul-work of letting go with deep appreciation for what has been and boldly walking forward in faith to what will be. To be honest with you, I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself! Which is why I’m exceptionally grateful that I am getting to spend a week with the youth of our church at the Fun in the Son Conference. What better way to wait upon Lord, than with the youth of VPC! The ice-cream is going to start to melt, the Promised Land is waiting, and we’ve reach the moment of decision. Lord, lead us! Let’s go! In the Grip of Grace, Pastor Hope hope.lee@viennapres.org