Pastor's Message
February 2013
To the Children of God at Emmanuel:
I have not received the “official” Letter of Call from the [Southeast Michigan Synod] Office of the Bishop as I write this newsletter article. I know where I believe God is directing me and how I am to respond to this call from Emmanuel. It does lead me to wonder about a few things as it pertains to the attachment which is a contractual part of the Letter of Call.
One third of my time is to be spent at Emmanuel in caring for and/or seeking ways to broaden/deepen the faith of the leaders at Emmanuel. Another third of my time is to be spent “connecting, visiting, and finding appropriate missional opportunities within the life of the community of Ypsilanti”, which is rather open-ended, but assumes I will visit pastors and community leaders as well as intentionally work outside this community of faith in one way or another. It may be as a volunteer or in some other creative way in order to share the good news about Jesus our Christ. I have attempted this in a rather piecemeal way over the last two years. This will need to be very intentional if it is to become a reality in order to promote the reign of God.
Let’s say I work about 60 hours a week. That would mean about twenty hours each week would be spent on doing God’s work outside of this faith community. My primary focus would be finding places where those who have little or any knowledge of Jesus would be gathering for or doing life in Ypsilanti. An example of this might be some type of volunteer work in a local school or in a local charity. (I already serve on the board of Lutheran Campus Ministry of Michigan and am seeking ways to connect with EMU.)
The other third of my time will be helping, challenging and encouraging lay leaders within the life of Emmanuel to be missionaries in their places of work, play and other social connections. This now means that time for administrative, worship preparation, sermon preparation and pastoral work specifically done for Emmanuel is down to twenty hours per week of a sixty hour week. I am currently leading a bible study group on Thursday, catechism class on Sunday, helping with youth activities in the congregation and leading a Centering Prayer group the first and third Mondays of each month. There are also a variety of meetings associated with the life of Emmanuel that I often partake in throughout the month. I also write sermons.
I am asking Patty, Emmanuel’s Administrative Assistant / Associate in Pastoral Care / Church Secretary, to include the attachment to the Letter of Call I will most likely receive from the Office of the Bishop in the next week or two. The bottom line to all this is that much of the pastoral care will need to be done by expanding our Eucharistic Visitation Team. A very small group of dedicated members now visit most of our folks who are unable to worship with us on a Sunday. This ministry will need to expand by incorporating more volunteers.
This is a radically different way to view how a pastor is working for the kingdom of God. It is radical because many of you have come to see the work of the pastor associated primarily with Emmanuel in the past.
One of Christ’s servants and your partner in ministry,
David A. Hendricks - Child of God