From Pastor Carole,

During our Sunday morning Bible Study of 2nd Corinthians, I was reminded again of Apostle Paul’s life of controversy and difficulty as he strove to build churches.  His absolute commitment to Jesus kept him going under very difficult circumstances.  Controversy in the church is nothing new: we just do it differently.  Today emails, social media, etc. make it easier to chat among ourselves when we have disagreements rather than talking to the person with whom we have differences.  As Roger Fisher and William Ury say in their best seller Getting to Yes, “everyone negotiates something every day, and although negotiation takes place every day, it is not easy to do well because standard strategies for negotiation often leave people dissatisfied, worn out, or alienated - and frequently all three.”

I wonder, when listening to Paul’s strong feelings expressed in 2nd Corinthians, if the subject of argument was always the gospel.  Sometimes we argue about an issue when really what is at stake is something quite different.  It may be related to feelings, or power, or a strong concern on a different subject all together.  The evident disagreement is a “proxy.”            

In the past month your Congregation Council has had to navigate a congregational disagreement: should the 11:00 service be inside or outside?  The Council sought ideas from everyone, and some valuable thoughts were shared.  Some are far more concerned than others about the threat of Covid at Lord of Life for a variety of reasons including the inclusion of children who cannot yet be vaccinated. Some truly value the unique opportunity of worshipping in nature.  Some truly dislike bugs and the variations of temperature in nature.  Some see worship outside as doing something different and unique that represents our congregation’s openness to trying different things. Some see worshipping outside as a personal nuisance.  Some see worshipping outside as unnecessary change.            

Having heard these and other comments, the Council agreed on a compromise with two overarching concerns: 1. All who wish to worship in person at LoL will have an opportunity and 2. The 11:00 service will, in some fashion, meet the desires of those who attend that service.  A third desire, for ALL to be happy, may not yet been reached unless we ALL find joy in listening to those who differ and working out a reasonable compromise. And who can argue with that!

11:00 Worship Service Compromise

Worship the first two Sundays of each month will be held outside, weather permitting (no raining or temperature above 85° or below 65 °.  On the other 2-3 Sundays worship will be inside.  We will remind you of the venue in the weekly Sunday zoom email.