Dear Church,
Lent isn’t always a quiet season!
Here at Blooming Glen, we’ve got an eight-week Bible study for women underway, meeting on Wednesday mornings. We’ve got an Intergenerational Choir, rehearsing on Monday evenings, and singing in worship through the Lenten season. Kid’s Club, Junior MYF, and Senior MYF have a variety of activities planned. There’s an Easter Celebration planned for March 23, and our regular monthly partnership with SEEDS, as a part of our neighborhood engagement efforts. There are several children, youth, and adult formation groups (ie: Sunday School) happening during second hour on Sunday mornings. There’s lots of pastoral visitation among our elderly community. Our preaching ensemble is beginning to take shape. Lenten dinners began this past week, with a meal and devotional (thanks to Gemeinschaft class for the meal and Libby Hollenbach for leading our devotional time). And if all that weren’t enough, we are launching a three-week membership class on Sunday evenings at 5 pm, beginning on March 10 and continuing March 17 & 24 (the March 24 class starting time may be adjusted so as to not interfere with the Lenten Song Service – more will be revealed). This is a hybrid event, with both in-person and on-line options for attendance. Everyone is welcome, but we only have ten copies of the class reading material, “What We Believe Together,” by Alfred Neufeld. If you want to attend on-line or in-person and want a copy of the book, let me know (jeff@bgmc.net) as soon as possible. The books are available first-come, first-served. If you just want to refer to the core material of the class, go to https://mwc-cmm.org/en/shared-convictions. This global statement of shared convictions will serve as the backbone of our discussions. Persons participating and attending all three sessions of the class can request church membership at Blooming Glen.
So, what does church membership mean at Blooming Glen Mennonite Church? The short answer is, “we’re working on that.” The Elders are currently giving attention to membership benefits, process, and recognition of church membership. There are organizational benefits, to be sure. Things like, voting at congregational meetings and access to cemetery plots are two examples of “membership benefits.” But those tangible items aside, the real point of membership is the public commitment we make to mutual support and mission in the name of Jesus. Church membership says, “we are in this boat together…on a journey with Jesus.” We may not always act like Jesus toward one another, but church membership says that we as members aspire to be Jesus for, with, and even in spite of, one another.
In this overly busy Lent, in an overly scheduled world, which is overly loud and noisy, I want to invite you to engage in our efforts to be disciples together. Plug in. Participate. Reengage. As a church, we are moving from a season of realigning leadership systems to a season of newly articulated core ministry. God is at work at Blooming Glen, and together, we will labor in the anointing of the Holy Spirit to overcome the spirits of doubt, shame, guilt, and fear that are incapacitating many congregations in our culture.
In my early days as a new Christian, there was a song we sang by John Fischer, which began, “Have you seen Jesus my Lord? He’s here in plain view. Take a look, open your eyes, He’ll show it to you…” May the many varied activities of this Lenten season at Blooming Glen serve not to keep you overly busy. May they instead provide each of us with the possibility of seeing Jesus our Lord. Together.
I’m grateful for each of you!
Pastor Jeff
jeff@bgmc.net
PS – I’ll be at the Broad Street Grind on Friday, February 23, from 3:30 to 4:45 pm to listen to whatever is on your mind. I’ll be at the A&N Diner on Monday, February 26, from 7:30 to 8:45 am to listen to what’s up. And I’ll be back at the Broad Street Grind on Friday, March 1, from 3:30 to 4:45 pm. Clearly, I have given up for Lent neither coffee, nor hearty breakfasts, nor conversation.