Pastor’s Pen | February 2024
New Journey Lutheran Church is turning 10 this month—double digits! Praise God!
Did we ever, in our wildest dreams, think this holy experiment of forming an organized ELCA congregation in the town of Fountain Hills—a town that has plenty of churches already-- would get this far? 10 years ago, could we have imagined what God would do through our shared ministry: over 600,000 meals packed, an expanded place of worship, a steadfast culture of hospitality and radical welcome for all people regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, a blooming community that shares care and compassion both within the community and beyond, an emerging collaborative model of ministry with the Northeast Valley Consortium?
In our wildest dreams, could we have imagined any of this?
Last summer, I was speaking with two of our members who have been with us since the birth of New Journey Lutheran Church, and they shared with me these words: “Can you believe it? We made it. Look what God has done. When so much was stacked against us and even the Synod wasn’t sure we’d make it, we’re still here. We’re still at it.”
These words were delivered with a mixture of delight, fulfilment, relief, and awe. I was so moved by these words that I held onto them for this Pastor’s Pen. Doubt, my friends, is part of what it means to be a community of faith. It’s part of the journey. Sometimes we’re not sure about what will happen next. Sometimes, the future makes us feel anxious and worried, and disbelief takes the driver’s seat of our faith.
This is absolutely normal and expected. Doubt about our future as a community of faith is nothing new to us. And yet, as our siblings in faith shared: “We’re still here. We’re still at it.”
I often wonder if faith comes to us in retrospect. In one moment, we struggle to discern what’s next and doubt if there will be a future. And then we look back and notice the moments when God was faithful, when God provided, when God was with us, and we are renewed for the present moment and look to the future with hope.
As we anticipate our 10-year anniversary celebrations, it is my prayer we will look back and find the moment or moments where God was so clearly with us, leading and providing for us. It is my prayer that these moments ground us in our present moment, fills us with great expectation for all that is coming next, and stirs our imagination and hearts.
God isn’t done with us yet, beloved ones. God has yet more wild dreams for us to dream. By God’s grace, we are still instruments of God’s love for all.
For this we say: Thanks be to God!
With joy and gratitude,
Pastor Beth