PASTORAL LETTER: WHAT'S NEXT

BUILT ON THE ROCK ...

“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals … and to prayer” Acts 2:42 (NLT)

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Grace, mercy and peace to you in name of Jesus Christ.
With the start of a new month, it is becoming apparent that we are entering a new stage in our journey together. This past week, Governor Murphy sketched an outline for the slow and, we pray steady, restart of the states economy. This weekend, parks and even golf courses are being reopened, with provisions for social distance and minimal contact, so that we might enjoy the sunshine, warm weather and exercise. In the days ahead we can look forward to the reopening of workplaces and businesses, again with provisions for social distancing and minimal contact. Churches, including this congregation, are working together with local colleagues to developing guidelines and outline provisions so that we can gather for worship, fellowship, study and prayer together in person. Before we take these next steps, however, we stop to make sure that we are clear within ourselves about our purpose, our mission, and our witness to the community. It is my prayer that this letter will help us clarify our vision for the future and unite us in Christ’s mission for the days and weeks ahead.

How You Think and Talk Matters
Six weeks ago, we changed the way we go about the most basic aspects of our life together. At that time, I wrote to you to let you know that the church was not closing, but we were, out of love, adapting to the threat of novel coronavirus so that we could slow the spread, protect the vulnerable and sustain Christ’s mission. Though guided by Governor’s Murphy’s executive order, I asked that as followers of Jesus Christ we intentionally and deliberately let go of certain practices — gathering in the ministry center for worship, for example — and intentionally and deliberately pick up some new practices — gathering in worship together online using tools such as Facebook, YouTube and Zoom. It has not been easy, but you have made these adjustments with such grace and humor that I have been overwhelmed and inspired by you and by Holy Spirit has been at work through you. By God’s grace, we are working together to accomplish what God has called us to do in this time by being the people that God called us to be in Jesus Christ, not just for a time such as this, but eternally.

We intentionally and deliberately changed our practices so that we could continue our mission. I hope you understand the power of that sentence to ground our thinking and our plans for the future. How our practices adapt and change in the weeks and months ahead will be informed by many sources, including health experts and local, state and even federal government, but these practices will be intentionally and deliberately shaped by God’s love for us in Jesus and driven forward by our enduring call to abundant life and mission in Jesus Christ our Lord. So, bear with me as I make some distinctions.

• Our church is not closed. We are adapting to mission in a new setting and continue to function according to that mission. Most activities at our ministry center on Old Post Rd have been suspended, but some, including our food pantry remain an important expression of our faith and mission.

• The Governor’s plan is a blueprint for the restart of economic activities. While there are parts of congregational life that resemble a business, a congregation is not primarily a business and its mission is not primarily to provide goods and services. A congregation is a network and system of relationships and its mission flows through that network and out into the world. Our mission is to share the good news of Jesus Christ in what we say and what we do (word and deed). That work is all about relationships, building, nurturing and sustaining relationships.
• Because a congregation is a system of relationships, certain dear and deeply meaningful practices present a high risk for spreading this virus. As a result, this congregation has changed, modified and adapted these practices out of love for neighbor and concern for one another and our community. In the process, the Holy Spirit has opened our eyes to a new vision of community and encouraged us to boldly move forward in ways that we could have only dreamed about a few months ago. Jesus abides with us, and we abide in him, and we see the light Christ’s presence in vivid new ways in these dark days.
• This process of change, modification and adjustment to new conditions and setting is nothing new for followers of Jesus. In fact, the dynamic and adaptive nature of our faith may be one the greatest gifts God has given us.
• We continue to move forward. Each night, we have met on Zoom for bedtime prayers. Part of that prayer service asks us to ritually put the past behind us. We come to the end of the day. We thank God for the gift it was, and we commend it to the Lord. Then we place ourselves into God’s hands and rest in the peace Jesus gives us, confident that we will wake up for a new day. We know all know that when this day is over and we fall asleep that we will wake up and it will be tomorrow.
• We will not wake up to discover that it is early morning March 8. As a community and together, we follow Jesus into God’s future, trusting that God will give us the resiliency and strength to face tomorrow’s challenges with grace and love.

We Move Forward In Christ’s Mission.
As we follow Jesus and move forward, mission clarity and focus will help keep us grounded, faithful and on the right track. Our mission is simple: Share the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed. There are two dimensions to this mission. One is directed toward the fellowship of the members of this community. Through the good news of Jesus Christ we gathered into fellowship with Jesus and each other as part of this community. Through this life together we are each sustained and nourished by gathering for worship around word and sacrament, caring for each other through fellowship and prayer, and studying together so that we might deeply root and ground ourselves in this Gospel. The other dimension follows Jesus out into the world in witness, love and service. The Gospel is proclaimed through the living of our lives, the love and care we demonstrate and enact for each other and the way we see and communicate God’s vision for a world healed, whole and well in God’s praise.

I hope you can see how life in a time of novel coronavirus we have not been separated from Jesus or each other any more than any power can separate us from the fellowship we enjoy in God’s love through Jesus Christ. It is my deepest prayer for you that you discover the resiliency of your faith and life, your purpose and meaning in God in the midst of the pandemic. I hope you can see how we remain, even today, mission-driven and mission-focused, even as we continue to make adjustments to our practices and to the way we carry out this mission.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we will plan to make some new adjustments to our practices and our ministries so that we can faithfully and effectively respond, according to mission, to the new realities of our lives together.

• Our church council continues to meet bi-weekly to keep us moving forward, together.
• Our care team has already been at work reaching out in fellowship, friendship and love.
• Our finance team has begun work on revising our mission spending plan for this year.
• Our worship and music team will begin its work to outline ways we can once again worship together and share in the Lord’s Supper.
• Our technology task force will consider how we can sustain and even expand our online worship, prayer and study opportunities.

All of this is so that we can continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ in all that we say and do. I invite you to consider your own gifts, Christ's and how you might be part of the ongoing conversations that is shaping a new vision of life together at St. Paul’s. Now is a time to dream dreams and see visions. As the Holy Spirit inspires, share your dreams and plans for action.

Food Pantry: Mission Activated by Love
I have left one ministry for the last because it figures to be the centerpiece of our outreach to a suffering neighborhood for some time to come. The St. Paul’s food pantry, along with other food pantries and food banks in this state has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people seeking to feed themselves and their families and to plug gaping holes in their household budgets. I cannot thank our food pantries volunteers enough for their inspiring and tiring work over these past six weeks. The scope and scale of this ministry is expanding rapidly. We have increased the number of food pick ups, the amount of food we purchase and the number of days we are open, and there is a need for us to continue to expand this ministry and to make it sustainable for the long term. As we move forward, we need more volunteers and more food to share. We need volunteers in a variety of areas: pre-bagging and distributing food, picking up food from various sources, traffic direction in our parking lot, as well as administration and even technology. To respond to the growing need, this ministry is faced with the challenge of having to scale up service while continue to serve … not an easy task. What can you do?

• Volunteer by calling Jane Brady at (908) 472-6003 or e-mail bradyamboy@optimum.net.
• Call me to explore your gifts and ideas and to match them with new and emerging food pantry needs.
• Continue to donate food to the food pantry
• Run a food drive at your workplace or among your friends and family
• Use your social network to share the good news and inspire others to be generous.

I know that this a lot to take in all at once. So, let me try to sum it up as succinctly as I can. What we as a community have done over the past six weeks, we have done intentionally, deliberately and as an expression of the mission this congregation — to share the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed. Rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ, we look to move forward together in Christ’s mission in a way that will continue to slow the spread of novel coronavirus and protect the vulnerable in our community. The Holy Spirit has given us not only the gifts, talent and creativity to sustain our mission but to scale up our service and outreach I the days and weeks ahead. The future will look different from the past, but then again, that isn’t anything new for us. Every living thing changes … and this vibrant and dynamic community of Jesus’ disciples is no different.

In closing, I am profoundly moved and inspired by the members of this congregation. I can see Christ among us in ways I had never known or noticed before. I can’t wait to see and hear how God is leading you, as part of this congregation, to live, love and serve in such a time as ours. I wonder, what is God calling you to say and do that will share the good news of Jesus Christ this month? I wonder.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. James Krombholz, DMin
Pastor