The new year has commenced and most folk are preparing to resume their daily lives in the same manner they were living prior to the Christmas/ New Year holiday season. It could mean returning to work or resuming activities that may have been in recess. For many this means going along with the flow, not making waves or being bold to try something that might be different. Just steady as she goes.
Our New Testament Bible readings today and next week challenge this approach to life comparing the darkness experienced by some and offering an alternative way of living (the Light) as defined by Jesus. Many people work hard under the struggles, suffering and challenges of life. Geoff Stevenson notes “Jesus proclaims that the Reign of God is here and calls us to turn around, reorient life and hope, desire and being towards this Light that shines.”
Here at Carlingford, we are being encouraged to be open-minded to some significant proposed changes as the new year opens before us. Central to these challenges is the preparedness to move away from the traditional way in which we have worshipped God. The Congregation has endorsed the Church Council decision to turn away from how we “be church” at Carlingford to focus our efforts on the increasing multicultural community surrounding our building, particularly in the high-rise complexes in the Carlingford Precinct.
The timing of implementing these proposed changes is dependent upon the calling and arrival of a Minister of the Word, described in our circumstances, as the Church Plant minister. Church Council is not throwing out the old ways of being the church and installing a new regime. Rather, it is seeking to respond to God’s leading and re-focus our efforts to the new demographic that describes our local community today.
Jesus invites us to seek people in our surrounding area, to bring them, in the Biblical tradition, to live in a new way that is meaningful and challenging whilst being hopeful and liberating.
NRM