Pastor’s August Letter 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

    
     “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.   A time to be born and a time to die;, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time…..”(Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).  For us at Messiah Lutheran Church it is a time of decision.  Sunday August 23 we will gather as a congregation to worship, pray, fellowship, dialogue, and  vote about purchasing land, hiring a capital fund consultant and placing our current church building up for sale.  While these are the specifics of our vote, it is not the essence or purpose.  Our vote as the body of Christ at Messiah is really a decision and proclamation about God’s mission for us and how a church building can serve that mission.

     “For everything there is a time…”  In the Bible there are two different aspects of time - two Greek words:   chronos and kairos.  Chronos is clocks, calendars, agendas, schedules, deadlines.  Kairos is infinity, the sacred, transcendence, the Spirit’s time.  Over the past three years we have been Working on chronos time to help discern God’s call and mission.  We’ve had numerous cottage gatherings in home and the church, meetings with an ELCA Mission Investment Fund building consultant, an ELCA architect, building committee meetings, Bible studies, prayer, Sunday forums, newsletter articles and congregational meetings.  The elected church council leadership has spent much time to ensure everyone has had opportunity to listen, share viewpoints, and actively participate in the process. 

     We have spent much time moving toward August 23.  That particular Sunday will be kairos time.  Throughout the generations there have been special times when God has called the faithful to act.  These moments are called “kairotic” times.  It is a time when the Spirit calls you to decide, to act, to step out in faith, to do it!  Kairotic moments are infrequent and usually much time has been spent leading up to that special moment, and God’s people discern the time to act is now.  There are those among us who may feel we need to spend more chronos time before making any decision, that we need to make sure all are ducks are in a row, more planning is necessary, and spend more time on the “what ifs”.  And there are those among us who believe Sunday August 23 will be a “kairotic”   moment, that it is time to be like Abraham and Sarah who in response to God’s call stepped out in faith not knowing for sure where they were going; those who say “carpe diem” or seize the moment.

     I hope and pray each of you will be part of this decision time in the life of Messiah Lutheran.  While we will not all see things the same, let us not forget we find our unity in Christ Jesus who is the church’s one foundation and it is his church on earth and in heaven.  While here on this earth, as Christ’s body we are Spirit led to be his church in mission, gathered for Word and Sacrament and sent out into the community to live out our faith active in love.   So, Sunday August 23 is a time not simply about buying land, calling a capital fund leader and building a new church facility, rather it is a time about the future; God’s vision and mission for us as Christ’s body in the world. 

     “For everything there is a time”.  I encourage you to contemplate, pray and be part of this decisive time in the life of Messiah Lutheran Church.   

                                 PASTOR KIM