This post is one of the monthly posts blog posts written by the deans of the conferences of the Minneapolis Area Synod.
By Pastor Lydia Svenulski
Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Hopkins
Dean of the Western Parks and Lakes Conference
Pastor Leila Ortiz at the Bishop’s Theological Conference
Over the last handful of weeks, I have spent much of my time pondering something Pastor Leila Ortiz said at the Bishop’s Fall Theological Conference. As she was presenting parts of her doctoral dissertation on ecclesial estuaries, she invited us to think of change and new things as “spiritual abundance rather than spiritual compromise.” This struck me as both beautiful and helpful not only for myself, but also for guiding a congregation and community into new phases of its own life.
For example, when a congregation is debating moving from two worship services to one, instead of thinking about what we would have to choose between: traditional or contemporary, early or late, more liturgy or less, we could think about what brings two things together: abundance. The merging of two separate entities into one creates a world of new possibilities and forces us all to see things anew. If given the opportunity, even new and different things can flourish. I am particularly drawn to the powerful presence and witness to God’s work that comes from what feels like death, but is instead, abundance.
Years ago, there was a congregation in St. Louis Park – Prince of Peace. Over the years, the congregation started declining in attendance and participation. Eventually, through prayer and discernment, the church decided to close its doors and disband. Members gravitated to other churches in the area, and eventually the church building itself was deconstructed. However, this decision came from spiritual abundance, not compromise. Because what now stands in place of the church building is a project funded by other local churches and nonprofits. Apartments and a childcare center located within the building stand where Prince of Peace once was. There was a need in the community for both affordable housing and childcare. Local leaders saw this need and approached different churches and organizations to help support its creation.
Even in its death, the church was still serving its community. By giving up the building and land, by choosing to trust in the God of resurrection and the truth that death is not the end, new life and abundance came forth. It’s not a church building anymore, and the congregation doesn’t exist as it once did, but resurrection still happened. Sometimes we get so caught up in the change or the death of something that we entirely miss that resurrection has already happened. We miss it because that resurrection looks nothing like what we expected or maybe hoped for, but it is resurrection nonetheless.
Vista Lutheran, St. Louis Park
There are always glimpses of new life and spiritual abundance around us – even in the midst of deconstruction and death. The small stained glass windows that were a part of Prince of Peace’s building are now housed at Vista Lutheran Church, also in St. Louis Park. Though they no longer serve as windows, they are housed in specially made light boxes and are scattered around Vista’s building. Elements of what was remain and are honored, and we carry those things with us into the future possibilities of where God is calling us to meet the needs of the world.
As we journey closer to All Saints’ Day, I want to encourage you to find something in your life that feels like compromise, death, or giving in, and instead look for the ways God is working in that change. Find the ways the God of resurrection is reminding you that God is not done yet, and that even if it looks different, abundance can be found in all things. Sometimes, if we’re open to it, God surprises us with a resurrection that looks different than anything we could have imagined.