The title of this blog is all too familiar. In the past two and a half months, I've been ordained and installed in a congregation. This congregation is a beautiful group of individuals who come together to worship. Over the past few years, this congregation has seen many changes ranging from the illness and death of a beloved pastor of over 25 years, declining numbers of butts in the pew (because of ELCA decisions, local decisions), kids growing up and leaving the nest, deaths of beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, and now a new, young female pastor.
This also means that my life has changed, drastically. I went from working part-time jobs which sucked the life out of me, to working with a group of people who I want to work with for a cause I want to work for.
That's a change. I'm not just working for a paycheck. I'm working to help people live into their baptismal calling. I'm working to help people see that God still loves them, God still calls them, and God is still with them.
Some days, that's a rough gig. Every person has doubts--in him/herself, in the pastor, in the congregation, in the world, and in God. Every person is broken--in mind, body, spirit. Every person requires grace and deserves love. That's the stuff that never changes. That's the constant in an ever-uncertain world. People are in need.
