WORD FROM THE PASTOR - SEPTEMBER 2024

"The preservation of the community is best assured through a process of continual change”
– Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf 

These words were spoken to the Herrnhut community. They can be found outside our church office and as you exit the building. They remind us that though we like things “the way we’ve always done it,” that may not be the best thing for life of community. Change is hard, but change can be good. It can allow space for something more, something just as meaningful to happen. It can allow the shift of attention to an area of need instead continuing something for traditions sake. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying get rid of every tradition we have. What I am saying, is that through this encouragement it is good to reexamine the why. Why are we doing what we are doing? Why was the tradition begun and does that reason still exist? Nostalgia, honoring, remembering are all good things, and in addition new ways can add depth or new growth to areas which may be more stagnant. 

We often look at change with fear because, “we’ve never done it that way before,” and we don’t know what to expect. The unknown makes us uncomfortable. Yet the new thing could be life giving and we may even find it just as, if not more, meaningful. God understands our fear of change. Through Isaiah God told God’s people, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19). The new thing, though unknown, can be life giving. 
​
As we begin the fall season, new things may be happening. It does not mean the old things are no longer good. It means that God may be trying to bring new life to us in a way never expected or experienced before. I invite us to open ourselves to God, are we being invited to do something new? What new life awaits us? 
​
Serving with you in Christ, 
Pastor Beth