Last weekend was the yearly gathering of Toronto Conference. As I was walking through Orillia from the parking lot to St Paul’s United Church, I played a game with myself: “Spot the United Church person". The test to see if I had guessed correctly was whether they entered the church or not! Out of about 10 people who were on the street at the time, I was right in all but one case.
So what gave it away: the comfortable shoes, the backpack and coffee mug or T-shirt with a justice based slogan? I am not sure but it got me thinking about the Conference theme this year “Leadership in a Strange Land”. Do we sometimes feel out of step with today’s society? Are we ministering more and more to ourselves, with little relevance outside our church walls or gatherings?
If I was looking for answers to such questions, I didn’t get them from Conference, but I was with people who are also grappling with such questions. Jim McKibbin also attended Conference, and he was very struck by the words of a former moderator, Peter Short:
In concluding, Peter said that the church finds itself in a period of transition. This is the new normal. People come to church not because of their success but because they need help with their lives.
We speak of the ‘best of times’ but God has put us in these times. It would be a gross assumption to say that our times are the worst of times. What is most important to us now is our freedom; freedom to know deep in your heart that Jesus is hard to kill.
Peter talked of a cottage which their family had rented for 5 generations and the fact that this year was to be their last year because the owner now had different plans for the land. Within the family there was discussion about what a loss this was, what they would lose with this decision. In addressing the issue of loss his brother said, “I can’t think of anything that I am losing that I haven’t already got.”
Blessings as you reflect on Peter’s words,
Karen
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