Congregational Life Centre
Our mission is to assist congregations to be more
effective in their ministry
Preparing the Garden
by Joyce Madsen
I love this time of year when the days keep getting longer and the sun
is bright in the Alberta sky. It means I can put away the heavy winter coats
and boots and start to plan what my deck and garden are going to look like.
I can think about who I want to share deck time with and decide which books
I might read while relaxing and watching my garden grow.
As I raked last fall's leaves from my garden yesterday I was reflecting on the conversation we had at our Epiphany Explorations Learning Circle. We talked about what the church needs to do to meet the needs of younger people today. I think the church, just like the garden enthusiast, has to decide what pruning needs to be done, where and what new seeds need to be planted, and what nourishment the perennials need for them to thrive throughout this new season.
I have a compost container where my old dead leaves go in order to become fertilizer and nourishment for the new growth. The church needs a good composting plan, recycling old growth to the point where it supports the new. We should not try to keep every program alive year after year. It was Jesus' message that we are to let what is no longer relevant go. Pruning the dead leaves and branches, moving plants to more suitable locations, acknowledging that a once-beautiful bush is not going to grow anymore - these are all concepts to take with us as we plan the next congregational season. Just like our garden, we want it to be a time of what Jesus described as abundant life.
Deciding what I am going to plant in the containers on the deck is always a pleasure for me. In a congregation, think about task teams and short term programs. I try to keep track of what did and didn't work last year and build from there. I sometimes decide to do specific colours in different spaces in order to create areas of interest. I have planted some tomatoes in pots the last couple of years because I believe we need to try and grow more of what we eat. Each summer I grow fresh herbs and enjoy experimenting with how to use and preserve them.
Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The containers don't always look the way I thought they would. Sometimes they are more splendid than I could have imagined. A failure one year doesn't mean that I don't try again the next. There are new plants being created and sometimes I get wiser about how to nurture them. I keep pushing the envelope of ideas.
Does that happen often enough in the church? What new seeds have you tried to sow this last year, and what results have you seen? Sometimes what does grow isn't what was expected, but by taking an initiative the result is something new and wonderful.
We need to keep planting new seeds and trying new things if we want to bring the community Jesus envisioned alive. Sowing new seeds, pruning the dead branches and leaves, and nurturing fresh growth - what would your congregational garden be like if you decided to create a new garden from the old?
Joyce Madsen is a member of the Congregational Life Centre staff team.
Congregational Life Newsletter. April 2010. Volume 16 No. 4.