APRIL Moderator Musings
Snow melts. Mud season underfoot. Seed catalogs in the mailbox. Birds return and sing. Spring has arrived!
Thinking of nature and Presbytery, appreciation, recognition, and thank you go to the Peacemaking Taskforce, special guest Caroline Brooks, banjo picker Rev. Blake Blakely, and the Restructuring Team for outstanding contributions to the March Presbytery meeting. Thank you to Rev.Becca Putman for her touching message. She will always be part of our Albany Presbytery family. Rev.Ken Applegate’s heartfelt words touched every heart with his big reveal on Becca. Each contribution highlighted the theme of Creation Care with glory to God.
Seeds and planting spark thoughts of New Worshiping Communities and Fellowships. It involves daily looking and listening with love. New Worshiping Communities and Fellowships is our theme for the June 5 Presbytery meeting. For everything there is a season: planting seeds, grow new life, fresh ideas, and possibilities. A change of season involves weather change, clothing adjustments, activity shifts, and a different view from your window. Take a walk. Look. Listen. Embrace the beauty. Daily looking and listening with love.
Here and now I will do a new thing; this moment it will break from the bud. Can you not perceive it? I will make a way even though the wilderness and paths in the barren desert.
Isaiah 43: 19 New English Bible
Flexibility = Survival For years those words hung on a sign at my work desk. It reminded me to respond to the needs of other first. A room or a building full of children necessitated a flex at any unexpected moment and usually several times each day. Change requires flexibility. Be flexible. “Being flexible is critical for both the body and the mind. When you’re flexible, you’re able to adjust to new challenges. When you’re inflexible, you break.” -Norma Kamali
Life-giving changes to seeds, plants, trees, and people – to us. Allow possibilities and promise to come with the season change, any change. Watch and prepare for more and new possibilities at Presbytery.
Again, consider this: Print a notice in your church email blast, newsletter, Sunday bulletin, or on the church website. Invite people to sign up for the Albany Presbytery e-news. Easy to do! Go to the bottom of the Presbytery website front page. There is an invitation to subscribe. Yesterday a friend reported to me that there was “enjoyment in learning about the work of Presbytery and what other churches are doing.” Invite your church members to sign up today.
Judy Hartley, Moderator
