The Messenger - February 10, 2010

Pastor's Corner

Reassurance

"O let me hear Thee speaking in accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion, the murmurs of self-will;
O speak to reassure me, to hasten or control
O speak, and make me listen, thou guardian of my Soul"

-- "O Jesus, I have Promised" (verse 3)

Judging by the tone of last Sunday's congregational forum, lots of folks in our church need some reassurance right about now. Many of you told me privately that you like some parts of the proposed sanctuary redevelopment plan, and some of you said you liked "almost all of it," but almost none of you expressed those sentiments on Sunday afternoon. Instead, I heard grief, consternation, resentment, and real fear.

When I asked some of you about this, I learned that part of this reaction stemmed from deep, emotional attachments to certain elements of our building, but most stemmed from your concern that the sanctuary redevelopment plan would be "rushed" through the session without giving church members some chance to alter it. That tells me that we need to slow this process down.

The first thing that must happen is a calm and thoughtful analysis of this architect's proposal. What parts of it pleased you? What parts of it bothered you? And why? We are emotional creatures, and it's only natural to have strong feelings about the place in which we come to worship God. But we do not have to let these feelings shackle us. We are capable of sorting through them, discarding what is peripheral and claiming what is central to our meetings with the Lord.

We are also capable of compromise. I've known most of you for years, and I know that you are good and gracious people. You adapted to praise music, when that trend came along, first allowing the "young people" to create their own worship service, then accepting "their" type of music into worship with your own. You have supported our children's musicals, laughing heartily and cheering loudly because our children were involved. And you have embraced the youth praise team--not because their work was perfect, but because they are trying hard to serve the Lord. So, you are capable of compromise, and you are capable of encouragement, especially when those you cherish--like our youth and music staff--are so thoroughly involved.

Finally, we are capable of creativity. There are many ways to "lighten up" the sanctuary, if we choose to do that. And there are many ways of "opening up" the chancel. This architect, John Gougeon, has suggested a number of cost-effective ways--but we are able to spend more on certain facets of this project if greater spending enables us to do this job "right." And we are able to cut certain facets, too. So, now is the time to give us your suggestions and ideas. How would you improve our sanctuary? And how would you fulfill the central purpose of this project--flexibility and capability for the coming years--while addressing the valid fears that were expressed?

The sanctuary redevelopment team is seeking written comments, and they would like to hear from you by the end of our annual meeting this Sunday afternoon. Since the committee has been working on this project for more than a year, I hope you will mention at least one facet of this proposal that pleases you. And I hope you will suggest some good alternatives, too. Finally, if you think we need to include something that the architect did NOT suggest, tell us. I have read some brilliant comments in the last few days, and I look forward to reading yours.

Electronic feedback may be sent to this address: sanctuary@ firstpressanpedro.org

On Valentine's Day we think of those
Who make our lives worthwhile,
Those gracious, friendly people who
We think of with a smile.

I am fortunate to know you,
That's why I want to say,
Happy Valentine's Day!
To all of you!

• The MESSENGER's Archives
• e-CALENDAR
• SERMONS Download