The Wilder View…January 2008

On Saturday December 15th we hosted a potato drop. It was snowing as we moved 10 lbs. bags of potatoes into the backs of pick up trucks and vans. It seemed like a really crazy thing to do and then in a burst of craziness the song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas starting going through my brain and I thought, “I wonder if we could write the 12 months of mission for Lafayette Park?” All of a sudden I could hear us singing ‘…and a pumpkin patch for our community…’ instead of a partridge in a pear tree.

It was pretty easy at first – “twelve shalom dinners, five Sunday dinners, four ice cream socials, three potato drops, two VIMS, and a pumpkin patch for our community.” The problem was with the numbers, 11, 10, and 9. (Ok I might be a little off on my numbers) Oh and there wasn’t a number in the song for our Matthew’s Brown Bag ministry, nor for our children’s ministry, not for the choir, nor for the boutique. I tried really hard to adapt the song so we could sing it together and celebrate all of the amazing things we were able to do in 2007 to live out our vision statement. The problem is that the song just couldn’t contain it all, and truth be told, the reality is that this article can’t either.

God has used us mightily in 2007. We have already accomplished several of our visions from our Vision Quest earlier this year. This is really great because we thought it would take us several years to accomplish just a small percentage of these exciting ideas. I know that God will provide even more opportunities to radically transform the city of St. Louis in 2008. God’s Spirit is alive and active in our congregation! God is opening doors for us to make a difference in our community. God is smiling on the work that Lafayette Park has accomplished. It almost feels like God is excited about what will happen in 2008. I must confess so am I! So I invite you, as we launch this New Year – 2008, to commit to asking God, “What do you want me to do this year? What do you want to do with our church?” Also please put February 23rd on your schedule for our next Vision Quest – Vision Quest 2008. We are planning on extending our understanding of God’s vision into the next decade. This kind of work begins with prayer, and seeking God’s direction.

I invite you into a great 2008! Truly, ‘God Is Doing Great and Amazing Things at Lafayette Park.’

To God Be the Glory!

Pastor Kathleen