WORSHIP

Over Labor Day weekend I visited Beaver Creek Valley State Park near Caledonia. I have to say, the drive down was alone worth the trip. The driftless wooded hills of this region are truly something to behold. Upon arriving at the park, I opted to take the hiking club loop. I quickly came to the first bridge and noticed something rather odd. As I looked out over the creek, there was dense mist hanging over the channel. I was a bit perplexed. It was already late morning, and the air temperature had to be at least 80-90 degrees. It was plenty hot, late enough in the day, why hadn’t the foggy mist burned off? Then I realized something. The water flowing through was ground water and bubbled up from the ground at a temperature around 50 degrees. The cooler water from the earth was condensing and cooling the vapor in the air. This convergent zone of water and air, cool and warm, created this beautifully mysterious cover of fog that enchanted my stroll through the woods for much of that day.

            At Cross of Christ, we just completed the congregational listening phase of our Vision and Vitality project. I am deeply grateful for the conversations and the earnest efforts to wonder about God’s future. We have also been listening to our wider community members to discern just where and how we are being called to minister and to participate in God’s work. It struck me in the days since my hike that we, in a sense, have been searching for these sorts of convergence zones. We are looking for convergence zones where need and opportunity in the community meet the assets and giftedness of our congregations. Where might these show up? It will be important to continue to let the process play out but one thing is clear, people are hungry to cool down, to reach for connection instead of overheated arguments and implacable divisions. It would seem that the cool living water Jesus offers to us all these centuries on. I look forward to continuing our listening and our watching for these convergent zones, the mists of God’s Spirit at play and at work in our congregations and larger communities.

            The driftless area of Minnesota truly is an underrated landscape in a state where lakes, woods and the Northshore are extolled to the highest heavens. Yet the hills and bluffs of this region are truly astonishing and come alive this time of year in bursts of warm and striking color. At the foot of these hills and bluffs lies these cold clear streams of water, bubbling from the earth itself, convergent zones of water and sky waiting to be discovered.

 

As Ever in Christ,

Pastor CJ