Make Them Hear You -- Newsletter article for the week of 1 March

"Go out and tell our story, let it echo far and wide. Make them hear you. Make them hear you."* These words begin a song from the stage musical Ragtime which I used in a slide presentation at the retreat in January and to close our worship this past Sunday.

There are verbs of action in that song: go, make. And indeed that is the charge that we who are affiliated with Chalice in any way have. We are to go out and tell our story and make them hear us.

During our time on Sunday, our Regional Minister for Congregational Care and Women's Ministries, Paula Poceicha, invited each of us to pick up a footprint she had cut out from construction paper and take it home with us. On the footprint, we are urged to each write our own personal next step in making sure that the story of Chalice is heard and that we are true to God's call to us.

We spent time on Sunday looking at our current Mission Statement. We thought especially about the five actions that we state there that we are called to do:

• worship
• grow spiritually
• build relationships
• serve the wider community
• share this Good News with others.

As Paula pointed out, we as a congregation may not be able to focus on all of these at once; taken together, we are biting off more than a mouthful. That could leave us frustrated, overwhelmed, and with a feeling that we are spinning our wheels.

But look at that list of verbs from our Mission Statement again and think of your next step. What are you going to do for the good of your faith community; for your own spiritual growth; for God?

One step, for most of us, is something we can do. Don't be concerned as you contemplate and take that first step about step number two, or step number 16, or any of the steps in the journey ahead. Think of the first step you can and will take.

Pace e Bene,
Gerry

*"Make Them Hear You" lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Steven Flaherty.