This time in Fall is a favorite of mine. Apple pies, pumpkins, color displayed by trees… it’s all lovely. For a short period of time.
Because while I enjoy this lovely time, I have a lot to do. A long list of “things to complete before winter.” This week will be spent caulking windows, filling in holes in the lawn, emptying the rain barrels, preparing for the first frost…. There is a lot to do before my house takes our next steps into a new season.
In a way, I see Stewardship Appeals in the same manner. We do an appeal to prepare for what is ahead. Appeals address needs, like a list, and we can’t move forward, really, without addressing our needs, filling some holes, and sealing up our plans.
At the same time, Bay Shore, we are also progressing on our Strategic Plan. Soon, a survey will be made available to you all to continue our conversations and planning for our future. It takes work to do a Plan—lots of lists, and reviewing the past, present, but more importantly discerning our future. Like Fall and Stewardship Appeals, a Plan process is a short time in the life of the church—but it’s critical for the new season.
You can only put off chores and the list for so long. Like my carport roof—its leaking, and we’ve patched it, but this year—if we don’t address it, this may the year it comes crashing down. So, it’s number one on my list—to address it.
Appeals and Plans, they aren’t attractive. It’s like a chore list, right? But they are necessary and critical. So, thank you, Bay Shore, for taking the time this month to review our Appeal and see how you might be able to support Bay Shore in a new way, and thank you, Bay Shore, for participating and engaging in our conversations about the Strategic Plan. We are building for a future that many of us will not see. And that, my friends, is what “expanding the Kingdom” is all about.
Blessings and peace, Pastor Sarah
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