Last Saturday, the Outreach Council gathered for a session of dreaming and discernment. Our first task was to ask one another, if you had unlimited finances and people power, what would you hear God calling this church to do? That started us off on a morning of insights, ideas, and dreams.
We dreamed of a mentoring program in which our members would connect with at-risk youth by Skype. We dreamed of joining the good work of the Free Library and the Center for Returning Citizens, churches and schools, to educate children and adults. We dreamed of adopting a house, of building and supporting people out of homelessness and into community. We have excellent dreams, biblical dreams of a new kind of community. And dreams are so important. In the Bible, in the story of Joseph that some of us are now reading together, it’s clear that our dreams are our destiny. Our dreams guide and sustain us. When we let them sail, our dreams point out our passions and commitments to us. More than that, our dreams can be the language through which God calls us.
On April 11th, at this church’s second Stop Hunger Now event, we will be packaging 20,000 meals while dancing to the organization’s playlist and enjoying the fellowship of all ages together. We do that because it’s incredibly fun, but also because we dream indeed of stopping hunger—now.
And on April 18th, we’ll be walking from here to Center City, in a progressive worship service shared across sharing our dreams with our neighbors from here to Center City, as we trace a strand of our connectional church with the Progressive Worship Walk. Along the way, we’ll be seeing signs of some dreams coming true—children learning to read, people hearing the gospel, communities coming to life. At both events, and wherever we go as we move toward Easter and beyond, we’ll be asking everyone we meet—tell us where God is calling you and yours. Tell us your dreams.
By the end of the morning, the Outreach Council realized it needed something. The Outreach Council needs to know: what are your dreams? Given unlimited finances and people power, what would you hear God calling this church do? What kind of mission would make your heart sing, use your best gifts, ignite your passion, and restore your faith? We can do all those things, but only if we spend some time in discernment, dreaming excellent dreams together.
Much mission afoot
