“It’s an ironic habit of human beings to run faster
when they have lost their way.”
–Rollo May
We are in an awkward time as a congregation. We know something has ended. We know soon we will have an interim minister in place, and they will lead us in an interim process that has defined steps and phases. But we’re not there yet. We’re in between, caught in what is sometimes called “liminal space.” And it’s the nature of liminal space to be unsure of what’s next, unsure of where we’re going.
Which is why that quote from Rollo May (above) has been on my mind. If you don’t know where you’re going, sometimes the worst thing you can do is to run faster. When you’re unsure of what’s next, sometimes the best thing you can do is to stop, take a breath, and try to reorient yourself and get your bearings before setting off.
In a congregation made up of human beings, conflict is inevitable. Some of you are keenly aware of the conflicts we’ve experienced. Some of you may be surprised to learn there has been any conflict at all.
I hear many of these questions: What has happened? Why did Pam leave? Are there divisions in the congregation? Where did those divisions come from? How do we resolve them (or learn to live with them)? Where do we go from here?
These are the right questions to ask. Answering them takes hard work and challenging conversations. It takes a commitment to speak the truth in love to each other. It takes time. Facilitating these conversations is the primary work of the interim minister.
So what do we do in this pre-interim time, this liminal space? Obviously, we will continue to worship and learn and love and serve. Beyond that, we need to practice patience and openness of spirit. God will do something new in and through Trinity church. We need to maintain a kind of sacred wonder as we wait for that new thing to take shape.
We also need to practice trust. I know that’s not always a given. In fact, that’s one of the reasons we move slowly because sometimes we need to spend time rebuilding trust. But ultimately we need to trust one another, trust the process, and trust the Spirit that is at work in us and among us.
We are in an awkward time as a congregation, but I am glad to share this road with you, and I remain deeply hopeful about Trinity’s future. There are challenges ahead, but also sacred opportunities to practice surprise and humility and wonder and compassion, to love one another and love the world.
As always, thank you for the privilege of serving as your acting senior pastor.
Richard Floyd
