Healthy Congregations, Healthy Practices

As the season of Lent moves through its fifth week, preparation for the  Holy Week and the three day Great Paschal Festival, also known as the Triduum, reflection moves into sermon preparations and spiritual preparation.  The blogs, as you might have learned last week, will be less than daily.  After the Easter celebration I anticipate returning to daily posts.

For daily reflections I suggest the on line Lenten Devotions found at www.stjohnsec.org.

For today, Healthy Congregations Keep Promises.

The theological bedrock of keeping promises is God's Covenant with us to be steadfast in love, justice, and compassion.  The Episcopal Church celebrates, affirms, and continually guides our lives in God through our Baptismal Covenant.

In congregations the implicit promise of congregational life is that we are all God's people together. Infidelity to promises unravels the trust that builds community.  Small ways that relationships are viewed as preferential speak that not everyone is equal.  Questions about how money is used, or about how it is reported, say that what is proposed and what is implemented are different.  A tight leadership circle that controls erodes the congregation's commitment to the community.

Christine Pohl says, "When we are on the receiving end of failed promises but do not see the justification or excuse for them, we feel betrayed.   Betrayal is devastating to our trust and sense of justice-and sometimes to our faith."

Keeping the promise of congregational life means that we continually inspire and offer ways for all of God's people to participate in God's purposes.  This may come about through personal vocation, using one's gifts and talents, on behalf of the mission of the congregation,  or, being part of any number of activities that make alive that congregation's call from God.

Reflect today how you are part of your congregation's keeping promises.  Where do you need to grow?  Where does your congregation need to grow?