Hello Church!

As our current time in California was winding down to a close and we fit in a few more precious hours with our California grandsons, I looked back on the previous two weeks with gratitude for the opportunity to reflect and reboot in preparation for the next months of ministry that lie ahead. Having time to work remotely has allowed me to be able to think, read, dream, and pray differently. All of that with the bonus of avoiding snow, ice, and temperatures that are just too cold for responsible human habitation is just so very welcomed in my life and ministry with you. Thanks.

I am back in time for our prayer and business meeting that is focused on approving the annual spending plan. As we prepare as a congregation to plan for the year ahead through our finances, I would hope we could bless one another in three ways:

First, we should celebrate. God has blessed Blooming Glen with an abundance of resources, both financially and managerially. Our income exceeded our expenses, and all our priorities for 2023 have been met.

Second, we should remember that the spending plan does not say everything. For example, the spending plan does not speak to how the congregation might feel about the future of Mennonite Church USA. Instead, the spending plan for both 2023 and 2024 supports the considerable and significant ministries of Mennonite Church USA in mission, education, publishing, and intercultural congregational support.

Third, we should remember that we have said other things that affect the spending plan's formation. As part of our congregation's Pathways Process, we clearly set policy toward what we have called a "pivot" to Mosaic Mennonite Conference as our primary churchwide connection and association. This is a decision in keeping with the letter and the spirit of the bylaws of Mennonite Church USA, which requires congregations to be members of conferences to be members of the denomination.

In an environment of God-given generosity, in a time of institutional transition, and in our continued rebranding of our congregational identity, it is important that we come to the spending plan for 2024 this Sunday with joy, hope, and the certainty that God is with us. Even though we are still challenged to be effective in a season of weakened institutional and narrative clarity, challenged to be faithful in ways that overcome the polarities in our culture, and challenged to be transparent in discerning wisdom among the avalanche of information, God is at work in and through and maybe in spite of Blooming Glen Mennonite Church. This Sunday, at our prayer and business meeting, let the alleluia of God's work be our shared point of view ... especially as we talk about money.

Pastor Jeff
jeff@bgmc.net

PS - Debbie and I are back in Pennsylvania, Lord willing, on Saturday afternoon, January 27. That means I plan to be at the A&N Diner on Monday, January 29, 7:30-8:45 am to listen to whatever is on your mind. I will also plan to be back at the Broad Street Grind on Friday, February 2, 3:30-4:45 pm, to listen to your point of view. Hoping to see you there!

Hello Church!

It has been a mild week here in Southern California as Debbie and I enjoy time with the California grandsons, time with good friends, and dreaming about the future. This two-and-one-half-week period of working remotely is a time for me to recharge, reboot, and reframe the work you continue to call me to do. The next six months of my interim service with you will be full of more changes and challenges. Between the beginning of February and the end of July, I hope to accomplish three major goals:

Establish a preaching team, so that the collective ministry of the Word on Sunday mornings at Blooming Glen isn’t a monologue, but a multi-voiced proclamation of the Gospel that gives us multiple perspectives on transparent, faithful, and effective Christian discipleship. To that end Josh Meyer, former teaching pastor at Franconia Mennonite Church and currently on staff with Everence Financial, will serve in a preaching role at Blooming Glen for a seven-month experiment. This is an initial step in the process of creating a lineup of preachers who collaborate with worship planners and each other to deepen our lived understanding of the good news of Jesus.
Onboard new staff and further align current staff job descriptions, so that the collaborative ministries of staff, elders, and core ministry leaders is nurtured and strengthened. Elders provide spiritual counsel for core ministry efforts through intercession, discernment, and conversation. Staff provide coaching and administrative expertise for ministry efforts by recruiting, equipping, deploying, and supporting core ministry leaders who are hearing and answering God’s call by establishing sound process for implementing ministry, creating abundant communication about ministry, generating healthy decision-making about ministry, and assessing costs of doing ministry. Additional staff, supporting the various parts of the Sunday morning experience and the ongoing engagement with the neighborhood, need to be identified and brought into the efforts we are undertaking to work together and honor one another’s calling to use our spiritual gifts to grow more deeply in our experience of Jesus, to love one another with radical candor, and to serve our neighbors.
Benchmark our discipleship values, so that we know better what we are working on together … and why we are working together in this way. In every other area of life, we measure what we treasure, and we treasure what we measure – until, it would seem, we go to church. It is important to seek ways to align the impressions we feel about the church with accurate data about the values which are vital and important to resilient health as a household of faith. How do we know we are doing the work of nurturing a Jesus-centered identity, finding belonging together, and living into God’s reconciling purposes well? It will take more refined and granular data that “bottoms in benches and bucks in baskets.” While these are important measures, they do not tell us the whole story of our efforts at living out the simple and non-resistant faith that looks for the blessed hope, Jesus Christ. Having a well-crafted set of measurements that are shared with the leadership systems of governance (CLB) and asset management (Foundations) for analysis and policy making, and shared among the Elders, Staff, and Core Ministry Leaders, to provide common direction will keep us moving together and moving forward as a congregation.

As I lead us at working on these three goals, I am optimistic we will experience God’s invitation to embrace a greater joy at being the church together – finding greater coherence in faith we confess, truly caring deeply and challenging directly, and being more and more generous to our neighbors near and far. I am also optimistic that God will lead in pivoting us toward deeper faith-filled friendships in our neighborhoods as we serve with love, wed peace and justice, and eventually get over our allergic reactions to evangelism.

There’s a lot to do in the next six months. Sisters and brothers, I’m looking forward to the journey.

More will be revealed,
Pastor Jeff
jeff@bgmc.net