Detours

Earlier this week my sister and I went on an excursion using mostly country roads instead of the interstate. I had done a little research, scouted a path, and printed out some pages of a brochure. As I reviewed the brochure, there was an ad for a town that called itself "The Norwegian Capital of Texas." So, we decided to make the detour and find a new pearl. Being raised to use the rational and skeptical parts of our brains, we knew that this was an ad, paid by the town, to encourage people to make a detour. Even knowing all that, we were disappointed when we drove through the town. We couldn't find any evidence of Norse heritage in the architecture, in the restaurant selection, or in the names of the stores. To be fair to the town, we never even got out of the car. If we had stopped to talk to the antique store owners, or stopped to eat, we might have found the "it factor" that we were hoping to find. Also, we visited in April, and their main festival is in late November. If we went during their main festival, we would have seen all of the costumes, the smorgasbord of food, and the idyllic picture we had painted in our head when we first read the ad.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, in our excitement to let our community know more about our church, help us to be careful with our words, monitor our ideas, and guide our actions to help portray a true likeness of your vision for this congregation. In this modern world of motion, sounds, and visual overload we struggle with ways to interrupt the stream so that people will know that we are here and make a detour to our front doors. Help us to live true to your word, so that when guests arrive, they feel that we are living true to our promise of being a caring congregation. Help us to be a congregation of constant Easter-life, not just put on display for annual holidays. Fill us with a vibrant and genuine love that invigorates our daily life and overflows to share with others. Make our church a detour that provides respite, renewal, and reformation from a road mostly traveled. Amen