Coffee shops, airports & lines

Posted on June 8, 2019 | Posted by Mary Stoneback

Moved by God’s grace, Ascension Lutheran Church creates faithful community so that All belong, All live purposeful lives and All can grow in their faith in Christ and share it with others.

I love coffee shops, airports and long lines. Often these are places in which God works through others to teach me; how to listen, ask questions and to be open to receiving another’s story. While some of these conversations have led to friendships, the majority of the connections were simply and profoundly for that time and space. In these conversations, I’ve also had the opportunity to share with others what I do as a Deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and my call to serve at Ascension Lutheran Church. Sometimes it can be challenging to know what to say, not because there’s nothing to say, rather, there’s too much I’d like to say. Yet, in conversations that average five minutes or less and sometimes more, time is limited. Honestly, I’ve teetered between the firehose and breadcrumb approach, saying too much for anyone to truly remember and too many pieces in a short conversation to ever truly communicate the larger picture effectively. Recently, however, thanks to the hard work of numerous individuals in our congregation and consultant Kristin Wiersma from the Joshua Group in Minnesota, I have a new understanding of how to give voice to Ascension’s unique mission as a community of faith. The following is how I’ve come to articulate the mission.

Moved by God’s grace, Ascension Lutheran Church creates faithful community so that All belong, All live purposeful lives and All can grow in their faith in Christ and share it with others.

I love being able to share this with others I meet in the community. And I’ve noticed a few things as a result of the clarity in the statement. First and foremost, I’ve internalized it. The statement means something to me and not only do I believe it, I’ve experienced it personally through one-on-one conversations with members of all ages, in prayer with youth at their school lunches, in weekly worship and in hearing God’s Word and through working with others in projects like the generation celebrations.

It gives me a chance to share concrete examples of how I am involved in the life of the congregation, in relationship with God and others. And how the congregation is involved in outreach in the larger community and world. When there’s a chance, I invite them to come join us on a Sunday. If there are any upcoming happenings outside of Sunday services, I extend the invitation to those as well.

Whether they take me up on that invite or not, I trust the Holy Spirit is present and at work in ways I am not aware, for reasons yet unseen. The opportunity in those moments is to simply give voice to what God is up to. Maybe you’d like to share with a friend or neighbor about your faith and where you go to church but like me, fumbled for the words? I encourage you to share your stories of how you belong, have found meaning in your life and how you’ve grown in your faith as a result of your involvement at Ascension Lutheran Church. Be encouraged, no matter how you do it, by words, actions or through your God-given gifts, your light shines in the darkness.

Looking for something to invite your friends to this summer? Join us for Campfire Worship & s’mores on the back patio Wednesdays beginning June 26, 7 pm – August 14, with no worship on July 3.