Grace and peace to you from God our Creator and our risen
Lord, Jesus the Christ!
Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the crisp air and
new smells. I love the changing leaves and cool nights. Maybe it’s because of
all the years that “fall” meant “new school year” for me, but I find fall to
feel more like a time of newness than any other season, including spring.
Autumn in the church, like in school, is often a season of
new things: a new Sunday School year, new ministry opportunities, new ventures,
and a break in the repetition of “Sundays after Pentecost” and the beginning of
other liturgical events and seasons.
This year, both Trinity and St Stephen’s are in the process
of something new that I find exciting, though it may not seem to be at first
glance. Both congregations are working on updating their congregational
constitutions! Trinity will be having a special meeting, the first
congregational step in officially amending their constitution, on October 19th,
and will be reviewing the by-laws after the constitution has been updated. St
Stephen’s council is continuing to work on updating and reviewing their
constitution, and more information about that will be coming in the following
months.
I know, it probably doesn’t sound thrilling, but it really
is.
In one sense, yes, updating our constitution is a congregational
“chore,” something we “have to” do in order to keep everything nice and tidy.
But it is more than that. In both congregations, we are updating our
constitutions to match language required by the ELCA’s Model Constitution for
Congregations. In updating our legal language and coming into compliance with
the larger church’s requirements, we are able to do more as church. Updated
legal language provides protection. No one wants to think about the
congregation being sued, or having to deal with legal proceedings, but in
having language updated as the ELCA requires and recommends, we are protected
by the knowledge and research of the wider church (and their lawyers). In
updating to be in line with the rest of the church, we are also demonstrating
and living out our connection to the whole church. We are not islands. Being
members of the ELCA has benefits, and one of those benefits is in being able to
draw on the wisdom of the wider church and being connected to it.
But more important than legal language and compliance with ELCA
requirements is the fact that in reviewing these essential documents, we are
giving ourselves the opportunity to talk about what it means to be church, to
be gathered communities of faith. Sure, there is a lot of legal language in the
constitutions, but there is a lot of language about faith, mission, and vision
(the preamble and first six chapters are all about faith and purpose).
So we have this great opportunity to look at ourselves, to
remember that we are congregations with in God’s Church, and to celebrate who
we are and talk about how we are and what we do in the world.
Thanks be to God!
Pastor Amanda
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