For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
-Ecclesiastes 3:1
Which works best for you?
If you have kids (or if you work in education), you may think in terms of the school year. September through early June is the defining span. You begin projects and make plans for those nine or so months, with a clear horizon right before summer. In church, we call this the program year, that is, the time of year we focus our important programs. We mark special time from Rally Sunday in September through Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. It lines up with the school year and helps us keep in time with the children and families who we’ve chosen as our focus.
But right in the middle of the school or program year comes the intrusion of the rest of the world: the calendar year. The calendar year has its own rituals, its own concerns, and its own focus. It doesn’t care what programs or plans you made for September through May.
Ready or not, here comes the New Year!
It barges in and yells, “Stop everything! It’s time to reset! Let’s begin something new.” Well, yes, and also no. At Pilgrim Church, our financial year follows the calendar year, even though our program year begins in September. So we experience a little…disconnect. A little offset.
So let’s take a moment to remember where we started this program year. Our focus is still Finding Your Why at Pilgrim. But if you’d like to add another dimension in honor of the new calendar year, how about Finding Your Why in Faith?
Hopefully, your Faith Why is a part of your Pilgrim Why.
Your understanding of your faith (and this faith community) will hopefully lead you to want to be here. But that doesn’t mean it has to be one size fits all. Maybe your faith is rooted in that deep sense of wanting to help others, the way Jesus taught. Or maybe your faith is rooted in wanting to worship God, paying homage to something larger than yourself (also as Jesus taught). Perhaps your faith is rooted in wanting to share your faith with others through teaching (yes, Jesus encouraged that, too).
As you find your WHY for Pilgrim, consider also your WHY in faith. And don’t be afraid to share it with someone if they ask, “What’s your why?” You just might give them a bridge to a deeper understanding of their own path in faith and at Pilgrim Church!
Happy New Year,
Rev. Charley
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