Skip to main content

What Shall I Say (October Newsletter)

The first time I ever talked formally with a pastor about my sense of call to ministry that pastor prayed with me. The second time, she handed me a book called “What Shall I Say?” This was a slim black paperback with a leaf pictured on the cover. It is the book put out by the ELCA that describes the various opportunities for ministry in the church. “What Shall I Say?” describes what an ordained pastor does, what a diaconal minister does, and so on. When I read the book, for the first time, I really saw in print what someone would expect of a pastor and how the church will guide people in different ministry roles.

The funny thing is that “What Shall I Say?” could be the theme for my ministry training. That phrase comes into my head all the time. If I know I am going to meet with someone, what shall I say? Will the words come that are helpful to this person? When I am preparing a sermon, what shall I say? How can I make this text clear and relevant to the congregation? When I am praying, what shall I say? What are the words that convey the emotions, experiences and expectations I have? Then I have my blog, the newsletter, daily conversations, Sunday School and the whole host of encounters that happen on a daily basis, what shall I say in those?

In my short time here so far, I have been encouraged and excited by the number of people who participate in the ministries of Gloria Dei. People are eager to help with AFACT, with youth, with church gatherings and with other projects. I have also met people who have good ideas about ministry opportunities and are unsure about what to do. There is a desire in the congregation to begin a ministry of visitation, both to members who might be homebound for various reasons and to people who have visited Gloria Dei for worship. Another fruit of the spirit blooms in helping with worship on Sunday morning. If ever there was an easy “burden” or light “yoke”, ushering, lecturing or assisting with communion all fit that description.

“What shall I say?” sums up Moses’ reaction to the burning bush (Exodus 3). The Lord, in the form of the flaming shrubbery, appeared to Moses and told him to go to Egypt, speak to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from slavery. Moses was worried about not being believed and about not being eloquent enough, but God assured him that all would be well and taken care of. As we know from the story, through the actions of a tongue-tied leader (and his siblings!), the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.

“What shall I say?” could be the refrain of our lives as Christians. Happily, we never have to say, “What shall I say to make God love/forgive/save me?” We have the blessed assurance that God, through Christ, has done all those things out of love for us and all creation. I realize we are not (too often) freeing people from oppressive slavery, but participation in various activities allows many people to benefit from your talents and for our congregation to grow in many ways. Despite the lack of blazing rhododendrons in my life, I believe God has provided many blessings to me, including the chance to learn from this congregation. As the year progresses, we will all continue in the ministries of this family, Gloria Dei. With God’s grace, may we continue to learn that God provides us with a way to answer “What shall I say?”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I'm In

A few weeks ago ,  I was using voice-to-text to compose some prayers. After I was finished speaking the whole list, I was proof-reading the document and   realized that everywhere I said “Amen”, the voice-to-text wrote “I’m in”. “Amen” essentially means  “may it be so”,  but what would it look like to end our prayers with “I’m in”. What would change if we rose from our knees, left our prayer closets, closed our devotionals, and moved with purpose toward the goals for which we had just prayed.  Lord, in your mercy:  Grant justice to the oppressed and disenfranchised (I’m in) Cast down the mighty from their thrones (I’m in)  Console the grieving and welcome the prodigal (I’m in)  Welcome strangers and attend to the marginalized (I’m in)  Grant the space for the silenced to speak… and listen (I’m in)  Fill the hungry with good things and send the rich away empty (I’m in)  Forgive others as I am forgiven (I’m in) Be merciful as God in h...

Top Ten Things to Learn from the book of Job

Readings: Job 1:1-22; Job 38:1-11; Luke 8: 22-25 10. Job contradicts Proverbs.   The writer of Proverbs offers the hope and consolation that people who live wisely and faithfully, according to the will of God, will flourish and prosper. The very first chapter of Job says: it ain’t necessarily so. You may well live righteously and with great integrity and, still, terrible things may happen. A faithful life is not an automatic buffer to calamity. Due to this contradiction between the books, both of which are categorized as wisdom literature, we are reminded of all those who have gone before us who tried to make the Bible speak with one voice. It doesn’t. The Bible has many voices, some of which are quite dissonant together, but they sing one song about the presence and providence of God.  9. Job is an old story, but a young book, relatively speaking. Since Job doesn’t mention Abraham or Moses or the laws or the Temple, some interpreters have considered it the oldest story ...

While to That Rock I'm Clinging (Epiphany 2025)

I recently read a book that contained this line, “God can only be drilled out of us, not into us. I can see that now, from a distance.” God can only be drilled out of us, not into us. The author was discussing the griefs and losses of her life, but also her awareness of the larger scope of the movement and power that carries us all, even in the difficult seasons. You do not survive these seasons by thinking there is no God unless the idea of a God who cares, who is slow to anger, who is abounding in steadfast love has been drilled out of you.   How does the idea of God get “drilled out of a person”? In today’s scripture passages, we have an example of people who have held on to the majesty and mystery of God, even in times of trouble. Then we also have a person whose awareness of the Divine has been drilled out by a desire to retain power and worldly influence.  The magi or wise men were probably Persian astrologers or maybe Zoroastrian priests from the same region, modern-day...