"Leadership is about stewardship not ownership."
Just like that a month has rolled by since I set foot inside of San Lucas. So far I have done the following during internship:
• Preached (1)
• Visited the homebound (3)
• Made a hospital visit (1)
• Assisted in a baptism (1)
• Attended at least 1-2 meetings a week outside of San Lucas
Of course this does not include Wednesday night baptismal class with a local family, Friday night first communion class, and Saturday Confirmation class/ LIGA de Niñxs/Grupo de Jovenes. Nor does this include the weekly play with the IEA students during recreo and at the end of the day. It is a busy week here and there is nothing better than doing the work you love.
At the beginning of September I posted about my internship project and my concentration on lay ministry. Since then, the church has continued to expose itself to me in many different ways that have adjusted my long term plan for the year.
I am presently struggling with my own understanding of spirituality, worship, and commitment. This past Sunday we had a worship attendance of ten people, not including the youth that were in the other building waiting until the end of service to sell baked goods. Nine people were a part of the family having their infant baptized. The other one was a regular member that also showed up about twenty minutes late to service (No big deal, better late than never). I looked at my Supervisor confused as to why no one else was here. Lluvia. Because it rained, no one came to church. On the one hand, very few people in the congregation actually drive so walking in the rain is no fun. On the other hand, it is worship, why is no one at the banquet?
As I reflect on my own spirituality and my previous church experience, people came to Sunday worship to be spiritually fed. For my mother, she feels very strongly about communion. The bread and wine is a significant component to her weekly ritual. For me it has been the praise and worship. There is nothing I enjoy more than singing and praising God on a Sunday. In my previous context, Sunday worship meant fellowship. Wonderful church ladies in their Sunday's best gathered around to enjoy the social and spiritual presence in a parish. Yes, during the winter church attendance tends to go down. Weather does do that. Yet in the same respect there were still those few that would trek on public transportation or hunt down a ride to be there on a Sunday morning. The deacons were almost always present and the members that prepared the altar and communion practically lived at the church. Now here I am in a context without consistent music or a consistent membership. What does this mean? It is my hopes that during the upcoming months I can better assess the spiritual needs (in regards to worship) of my congregation. How else are people being spiritually fed? What is membership without attendance?
In this month I have learned that some of the most regularly attending people in the congregation are in fact the youth. Whether they may or may not enjoy the worship aspect of church, they are the ones teaching Christian Education, supporting the children younger than them, and using the church space well. Some of them are incredibly talented with music. Others are using their gifts for teaching. Then there are a few that use the church as a safe space to play futbol on the patio. During the weekends they come and go as they please bringing friends and little siblings to our sacred space. One of our older youth works six days a week and the one day she has off is spent serving San Lucas in some way. When I think of what has been life giving in this church so far it has been to see the maturity and leadership of teenagers.
“ Deuteronomy 6: 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.[a] 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem[b] on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
This brings me back to Deuteronomy as Moses is trying to establish society. What is our structure for existence? How can we prosper? The God of my understanding teaches the Hebrews to love. To trust, even. Invest so deeply in the Lord as the Lord invests in us. At this point, the Hebrews are out of Egypt. They are no longer slaves but independent people. Throughout their entire journey God is walking with them. This powerful and intimate God is not to be forgotten because they have received liberation. God tells the Hebrews to tell their children and be vulnerable with them about this journey that God has taken them on. Let them see how great God is through us. Let the love of/for God be reflected in our homes, bodies, and actions. That love comes from the care of God’s creations. In this case, that creation is us. Let the youth know how much God cares for us so that our struggle does not go in vain. We teach the love of/for God so that others may learn from us and do better. How do we do better?
When my Supervisor informed me that lay ministry was a major need of the congregation, I was looking towards some of the adult members I was seeing every around. I am learning that many of the older members’ idea of church is still pastor-centric. I am also getting the feeling that participating in church more than Sunday is not necessarily their cup of tea. This is fine and something we can also tackle. I am seeing that this lay ministry may be more youth based than I expected. This is exciting. This is how we do better. We teach the youth.
Yesterday I added another room to the cleaning list and tackled the youth room. This time, rather than announcing it to an empty sanctuary, I told the youth on Saturday. Two young people came after school and cleaned with me for about five hours. Regardless if there were two or twenty two people, the first time I cleaned the office it was just me. We played our music loud, opened the windows, and dived into this dusty storage space filled with crafts, hula hoops, sleeping bags, and craft supplies. There were text books, photos, posters, and card board cut outs. As we went through boxes and bags, I held things up and said “Basura, ¿si?”
“¡No, no Nic! Salve.”- Nico
“Pero este es viejo y sucio. ¿Por qué no podemos crear otra uno?”- me
(Insert a long Spanish response about it being for camp or for an activity)- Him
Rinse and Repeat dialogue above.
We struggled with the youth room purge as many items that I would consider trash were kept and placed in other boxes to go back on shelves. We can just make new ones, no? There were times that I had to check myself on both accompaniment and stewardship. First off, who am I to decide what trash is and what is valuable? Some of these handmade crafts may have been sitting in this room for years but it makes it no less valuable to someone else. Also, what right do I have assuming we can easily replace certain items? Is that good stewardship? Probably not. At that moment I realized I needed to reevaluate my own definition of caring for God’s creation.
Eventually we got to a point where we sat down for a second to discuss what we were doing. I explained that it is healthy for us as a church to practice stewardship. Stewardship is more than giving away money but it is about time, treasure, and talents. Stewardship is taking care of your community and God’s creations. What we were doing in this room was a form of stewardship. A few minutes later I asked them to sing during worship in November on my preaching day. These are other forms of stewardship, using your talents for the spiritual care of God’s creations.
Going forward this month, I am introducing the Spiritual Gifts Assessment to the congregation where we can look deeper into what our gifts are for ministry. We can then keep inventory of how people can best be used for the mission of the church. I more so look forward to seeing the results of the youth as there are plenty of opportunities for them to serve at San Lucas. After we have a good idea of our gifts we can then offer the resources people need to enhance these gifts. This month I also plan on preaching about stewardship and congregational involvement as an introduction to lay ministry development for the year. Wish us luck on this journey.
#ReclaimMissionary
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