In the Echo newsletter on its way to you is a short blurb on the Rev. Molly Carlson, newly called to serve as the Conference Minister of the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ (our denomination). I got to meet her on Zoom a few weeks back and am SO EXCITED about the decision to call her as our leader. 

A moment that really touched me in the “Meet and Greet” with pastors was her decisive answer to the dilemma of the widespread “decline of the church” in our day. The intro to her answer was “Well, we just don’t tell THAT STORY.”  Her coaching gifts and language came through in that for me, as she invited us to then speak and think differently about the changes, evolution and challenges of our ministries.  What story might we choose to tell of our enduring faith and work amid changing forms and strategies?

You’ll hear the old hymn “I Love to Tell the Story” on Sunday.   That’s the story of Jesus, of his love, of our welcome and our work on His behalf.  We live in pressure-cooker times and everyone wants to sell us a story about what the times MEAN or WILL BE or WHAT CAUSED THEM.   Inspired anew by Rev. Molly, I am always asking “What story will I tell?”

I pray daily for myself and for you all that we will find refuge in the story of Jesus. I will not tell the story of enmity because I know the story of Jesus. I will not tell the story of hardship’s dread because I know the story of Jesus. I will not tell the story of supremacy or futility because I know the story of Jesus. I will not tell the story of his mission (as expressed in the church)  faltering, because I know the story of Jesus.

I WILL tell the story of my need and yours, of our vulnerability and worries and tender spots in this challenging time.  But I do so BECAUSE His grace is sufficient for our weakness. Our hardest challenges and greatest limitations  still point to God’s glory and trustworthy presence. That’s the story I will tell.  Will you join me?

In Christ’s Peace,
Pastor Jacki