Dear Sisters and Brothers,
New Connections 4 – Some Clarification
As we continue moving forward with our New Connections themes, people have asked me, “Where does this lead us as a congregation?” With our efforts to have bilingual meetings and the occasional service, some have wondered if these are to become the norm. The simple answer is: “No.” New Connections are about loving our neighbors. Our bilingual meetings and occasional worship services are about our congregation’s vision statement.
Almost five years ago, we envisioned St. Mark’s becoming “one Lutheran parish with many cultural voices and room for everyone to be at home.”
Our vision statement is based on John 14 where Jesus told his disciples that he goes to prepare a place for us in heaven (God’s house) where there are many rooms. We imagine that these rooms are quite diverse, each an expression of the ones dwelling in them. We also imagine there being places in the house where everyone comes together. Today, St. Mark’s resembles this reality.
When I arrived at St. Mark’s seven years ago, we were effectively two congregations. Our English-speaking and Spanish-speaking members had little interaction, few people knew each other across communities, and our pastors primarily served either English or Spanish congregations because only the Spanish-speaking pastor spoke both languages. This is not who we are today. As our pastoral and office staff changed in recent years, we set out to build “one staff for one parish.” We called Pastor Varinia to the whole parish, we hired secretary-administrative assistants who are bilingual, and I began participating more in the life of our Spanish congregation. We transitioned from two separate congregations to one parish through these efforts.
Today, St. Mark’s has three worship services: two in English and one in Spanish. We have different styles of worship between the morning and afternoon communities. Yet, we are one united people of God. We are led by the same pastors, council, and ministry teams; we are becoming more aware of events happening in each other’s communities; and we are partnering more in ministries of the congregation.
What we are NOT, and never intended to become, is a congregation that consistently has everyone in one room where every language is spoken and every culture experienced every time we gather for worship. That would not work for either English or Spanish speakers. Our bilingual services, such as the one we had on Pentecost, will continue to be the rare exception and not the norm. We will continue to worship in our native tongues in our proverbial own rooms. We do this knowing that our worship services are different because we are diverse; nonetheless, we are united as God’s people gathered at St. Mark’s. When it comes to operating as one parish with many voices, WE HAVE REACHED OUR GOAL.
Over the next few weeks, I hope to continue to explain our goals and progress towards connecting with God, one another, and our neighbors. These goals will leverage our many ministries, energy, and, I hope, your enthusiastic partnership. Please continue to communicate with me, Pastor Varinia, your council, ministry teams, one another, and especially God.
God loves you and so do I,
+ Pastor Albert
