Traveling the Road Together
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Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
I am excited to begin our work together as Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ! I am grateful to all the leaders, saints, and apostles who have brought you to this time in your spiritual lives. You have called me to be your designated pastor. In the United Church of Christ, “designated” references a time where we discern whether we want our time to be an interim time in working toward another settled pastor or whether we continue the relationship through toward a long-term journey that will lead to our mutual growth and health. I find life and Divine in either one of these paths.
Regardless of the path, I hope you all will experience me who loves you, creates healthy boundaries for us all to experience a space of goodness and vitality, and deeply desires our growth and well-being as a community of faith. I love to be part of a team that is gets things done and is more than the sum of our parts. When I am a part of a community like that, my faith in a God who is on the move, actively working, and teaches me of a love that is ever-expanding.
That sounds so overly romantic about church, right? But I have experienced that groove. It is what keeps me in the church. Like you, I will probably get frustrated with what it means to be “church” and wonder why I continue in the institution that can be so hard and difficult. I am reminded, though, that God delights in a community willing to do the hard work and can be found walking with us through our wilderness.
Please pray for me. I see prayer as a form of solidarity, and I lose hope when I think I’m the only one walking in the wilderness. I will be praying for you. God is on the road. I cannot wait to join hands with you to step out on that road and begin to see where that road will take us.
Our National Meeting:
General Synod of the United Church of Christ,
July 11-18, 2021
I think one of the best things our national church continues to do well is national meetings. Events like General Synod and National Youth Event have been powerful for every congregational member who has participated in these events. I have been honored to present a resolution I wrote to the General Synod and see that process and to be part of an ongoing display and engage with other participants.
I hate to admit this, but it has also been the place where I have renewed my pen supply as I pilfer all the promotional pens found at the hundreds of displays in the event hall. (Tracy and I have way too many of the post-it notes wallets offered by a UCC organization. Yes, our life should have more meaning.)
In the past, the sole road-blocks for these events have been the time, travel, and the expense. This year the entire General Synod will be an online, virtual event! And the cost for visitors is only $100! This is a great time for us as individuals, and for us, as a local church, to participate in the best the United Church of Christ has to offer. I will also be leading out a workshop on the relationship between food, farm, and the church as part of my work with the UCC Council on Climate Justice.
Registration for the event, July 11-18, just opened this past week!
You can register as a visitor by going here:
https://www.generalsynod.org/. If you need help financially or with registering electronically, please contact me (mmulberry@gmail.com). I don’t want anyone left out who wants to be a part of this event.
I will also be asking the United Church of Christ if we might register as a church to watch some of the General Synod together! Please
consider it. We have many people who do fantastic work in the wider church. I also find that the connections we make with the wider church end up coming back to the local church in profound ways. I want us to expand and deepen our hearts through events just like this!
