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November 9, 2010
Welcome
presbyters!
I
hope you are ready for the season of Advent and Christmas that will soon be
upon us. It is also the
time for us to review the past year and plan for the coming year. This is a
time to meet with family, friends and colleagues. We are gathering for our last
meeting of the year and have a tradition of gaining energy through mutual empowerment,
mutual support and inspiration for our shared ministry.
We
are committed to doing ministry within the Presbytery in various areas using
our different gifts. Ministry requires different gifts of science, skill,
knowledge, spiritual resources and many more. Carrying on good ministry also requires
experience and competency in a variety of areas. But there are some gifts which
can be overlooked, such as persistent prayer, patience and humility. When we
realize that there are diverse gifts, we can be humble. This also teaches us to
think carefully before we say “I am right and you are wrong.”
The
process of forming a new presbytery has started but is not yet finished. In
fact we are still in the beginning stages. We have been struggling to adjust
ourselves to the new structure and system. Sometimes, one’s ample experience
carried over from the past can be a hindrance to working with new people in a
new system. We have a completely new governance to work with in our new
structure. However this is only the starting point in the process of making a new
Presbytery. In this process of creating something new, we need to work while
attentively listening to others and with mutual respect.
Our
United Church is proud of its commitment to justice work. I am reminded that
there are many around us who recognize the people
of the United Church as those who are committed to living out peace and justice
in both the church and in the world. In my dreams I sometimes see multitudes of
United Church people who are so beautiful as they become partners in God’s new
creation. This helps me to sustain a hope of bringing vision to the church and
to the world. All innovative new
creation brings with it challenges and risk taking. Looking back and trying to rely
on our old experience is not conducive to finding new creative ways of doing
things. I hope our Presbytery will venture forth in faith and try new ways even
though it means taking risks.
We
have had sessions for Sexual Harassment and Racial Justice training as part of
what we need to move into forming this new Presbytery with the big picture as ‘one
body’. In planning the plenary meeting, we have struggled to choose between the
‘wants of the presbyter/s’ and the ‘needs of the presbytery’ when these
objectives conflict with each other. The Executive and Agenda Planning Teams
have been focusing on the ‘needs’
rather than the ‘wants’. In this
process of building a new presbytery, we want to live out what we have learned
from Jesus’ prayer, “Not my will but thy will be done.”
The
Presbytery plenary meetings will be the celebration of God’s presence through
building trusting relationships, sharing the work of the teams and their
committees and decision making. In this November plenary meeting, we will focus
on congregational life through the work of the Pastoral Oversight Team. Presbytery
meeting is an occasion for each one of us to become a part of the history of building
a new Presbytery and shaping it into a colourful and creative new body. All of
this effort can only start if you grace our
meeting with your presence. See you
there!
Blessings,
John Lee
Chair, Toronto Southeast Presbytery, Toronto
Conference, The United Church of Canada
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