Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2024 Blog #4
January 22, 2024
God, may we? Yes, you may!
People my age grew up playing the game of “Mother, may I?” In this game, one person is picked as the mother and others asked the mother to take different types of steps. Some of the types of steps were interesting. You might ask to take a giant step, an umbrella step, a baby step, or a rabbit step. To take such steps one must ask, “May I?” and the mother would respond, “yes you may.”
I am reminded of this game as I look at the progress, we have made in beginning an Hispanic ministry in our congregation. We have planned this for eight years and have suffered a few futile attempts. For some reason, things were not working well in bringing us toward this outreach. Perhaps it was our lack of ability. Maybe God was not ready to bless our efforts. After several years of futile attempts and asking God, “May we?” God responded, “Yes, you may!”
One year ago, we found a seminary student, who is a native of Columbia, to begin our outreach to Hispanic neighbors and build an Hispanic congregation that will be part of our congregation. This student, Ivan Gil, began work with our classis toward the goal of ordination as a minister of word and sacrament.
Even as he continues his work within our congregation, our nomination committee nominated, and our congregation elected him, to be an elder of the congregation. This will, with the consent of consistory, allow him to be an elder who preaches and be an elder who can serve Holy Communion to this Hispanic Congregation.
Just a few days later, Ivan received a letter from the Reformed Church Ministerial Formation Certification Agency (MFCA). He has been accepted into the program. This is an important step toward his ordination. God granted he, and us, another giant step forward.
Thirty years ago, Hispanics began moving into our community but most of our congregations did not even notice. A decade ago, we tried to do Hispanic outreach, but we really did not know how. Now, God has shown us the way and has allowed us to take a giant step forward.
We are not content to stand where we are. There is plenty more to do to make our Spanish-speaking worshiping community a sustainable one. We continue to ask God, “may we take another step-forward?”
Have you ever been frustrated in your plans, either personal, or for your faith community? Have you ever prayed, “God, may I?” but never heard a response from God, or even worse, heard, “no you may not!” Sometimes we are not ready for the blessing and God will not grant us the blessing until we are ready, or God is not yet ready for reasons we cannot comprehend. Or, perhaps, what we are asking is not in accordance with God’s will.
If God won’t let us take a giant step, or even a baby step, then we must ask ourselves if we are doing what God wills and if maybe we need to better prepare ourselves to receive the blessing. Then, perhaps, God will allow us to take giant steps like he has at our congregation.
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