I was reading a reflection by a colleague this morning and was caught by how they described how practice helps us find our center. They wrote “Our spiritual practices…deepen and strengthen our capacity to find our way, find our breath, find our center, our grounding.” I was struck by what it means to find our center—to find our grounding, and why that’s important.
In many ways this is the work the Visioning team has been engaged in for little over a year. In the glow of our 2020 Advent them: “Daring to be like Those Who Dream,” I offered an open invitation to anyone who wanted to be part of a dreaming process to discern how God was calling us to proclaim the gospel in this season and be good neighbors in this community. A small group of folks accepted the invitation and we began meeting on a regular basis.
After receiving an Innovative Ministry Grant, we began working with a facilitator that guided our conversations and helped plan our church retreat in the Fall.
Since the retreat, the Visioning team has continued to work with her to sort through all the stories and materials that came out of all those conversations. We’ve been discerning and distilling the core of who we are as Community Baptist Church into a statement that will be our guiding star. It’s been a hard and holy process to find and articulate our center. But we are excited to share with you the fruits of this labor!
At our Annual Meeting on Sunday, you’ll hear a little more about the process and have time to discuss and dream with us moving forward. The Visioning team thanks you for your prayers and support as we’ve found our center and are ready to live into its grace.
In Love,
Pastor Annette