Many hours have been spent in recent days on the phone or in person with folks from my church family. Some are dismayed and disappointed about the determination made by the LES Team our congregation hired to help us see "through the trees" regarding adding grades to our preschool or not. If you have missed a few postings, the Team, using gathered facts, figures, individual interviews, discussions with County officials and other area school representatives, plus using the info garnered from the congregational surveys, came to the conclusion that this is not the right time to add grades to our existing preschool.
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While this program has been a long time planned for and discussed since before I even became a member at this church, nothing says "now is the time". Not even the enthusiasm and promise of students from the few parents who had said they wanted a Lutheran grade school. It was vital and important to have this answer come from those who are not personally invested in our congregation, but who ARE invested personally in Christian education in their career choices and the responsibility of doing this work for our Synod and its churches. These men would have done us a great disservice by recommending we go ahead, roll the dice, start a grade school, and then have it fail because we are not able, willing or otherwise, to maintain and support it in coming years. I, too, am saddened by this, but more by what the Team brought to our attention than by the conclusion.
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On Sunday I wrote about the "mirror" held up in front of our congregation and the not-too-pretty reflection we had. Much of this reflection is what now brings the phone calls, meetings and written discussions. I am finding out things I either did not know, or did not want to know (keeping those rose-colored glasses handy!)
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And now I must write a newsletter, using my normally optomistic paint brush. I CAN do that, because, truthfully, I am still looking for the silver lining, the Light our congregation is established in, and reveling in His Light rather than the one which casts the yellowness of jealousy, the red hue of hatred, the green tint of envy, the black tones of sin, the blue tints of sorrow....the whole crayon box that makes up humans. Often crayon cannot be erased. Fortunately, the Heavenly Father has provided the Eraser, the cleanser of all sins and evil, in His Son.
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Tonight, Ash Wednesday, we begin the walk Jesus took as He prepared to face His accusers, His convicters, His killers, all on our behalf. Let us adjust our focus toward Jesus and to each other in Christian love and unity.
