Summer is once again upon us and as we reach the midpoint of this year the warm, sunny weather we normally expect after July 4^th has already caused backyard gardens to flourish and sent seasonal crops into “bumper” territory.  Green and growing things are responding prodigiously to the conditions provided and the verdant result is a sight to behold!

Would that we engage our mission with such unrestrained exuberance!

The water heater that ruptured in the sacristy last month, causing a temporary lake to form in Peace’s fellowship hall, has been dried out, and the repair phase will soon begin.  As a result of the flooding several sections of the asbestos layered floor tiles need replacing, and we’re engaging a crew of seasoned professionals to engage that task.  Once the floors are done, there will be fresh paint for the walls, new carpets to install, and a new ceiling slated for the fireside room.

With what kind of attitude will we approach this incident?  We could bemoan it as a major inconvenience, shake our heads, and focus on what a mess, what a waste, and what a job it is to clean up! ARGHH!

But another way to look at the situation is with a pragmatic eye, which is to say, we now have the opportunity to go through the entire basement anew with an eye toward evaluating how the spaces there can best be used for ministry and making decisions about what’s worth saving and what’s best let go of.

When I think about the timing of the “flood” I end up in a place of gratitude.  First, we’ve got insurance to cover most of the costs.  Second, it happened at a time of the year that interferes very little with our ministry commitments.  Third, an energetic, organized, and generous crew of people have been hard at work already, determined to make this harvest of lemons into lemonade!  Frankly, I’m not surprised.  This kind of open, care-full, and generous attitude is what I’ve come to expect from the people of Peace.

This congregation has cast a powerful vision and we have been investing ourselves and our best energies these past two+ years putting flesh and blood on that vision; making it real, making it “sing.”  The result is a set of core ministries that (in my view anyway) will match up with the best work being done in small parishes anywhere.

Still, as we stretch toward the considerable goals we’ve set for ourselves—including the mission budget we approved for the current year—we are finding ourselves once more in the throws of another divine challenge:  at the end of June we are close to $7,000 in the red.  The spending side of our budget us right on schedule, but the giving side, our income side, is a few percentage points behind.  The church council has decided, wisely, that the search for a solution belongs to all of us.  When we meet together as a congregation on July 12^th, we will take stock of our options and try to discern where the Spirit is calling us.  Together we embraced our mission budget in January, and together we need to decide how we will address the circumstances before us.

This summer is filled with ministry opportunities: reclamation of the downstairs; co-sponsoring the Community Meal; the jr. high bicycle trip to Lopez Island; the July 2^nd BLOCK PARTY for Tour de Revs; providing staffing for Family Promise; the national senior youth gathering in New Orleans; Vacation Bible School.

Add to these the small group opportunities and our weekly worship gatherings around Word and Sacrament and you get the picture that Peace’s ministry is hardly “on vacation” this summer.  God’s work continues in every season and you and I are part of that work.  The list of resources with which God has blessed us is long, and it includes keen minds and dedicated hearts, and it also includes financial resources for undergirding God’s mission here.  What might the “bottom line” look like if we were to bring our own habits of giving and sharing into conformity with the generosity of the one who, though he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich?

Your partner in service,

Pastor Erik