Dear Caldwell,
On Sunday, we lifted up the names of those saints whom we’ve lost recently and remembered all the others who have touched our lives and shaped this community of faith. That includes the old senior saints, who did all they could to keep Caldwell alive. It includes some from the diverse group of seekers, the wounded and the weary, who came alongside them to focus Caldwell on the need of all of God’s children. And, includes others who have come in the years since. Together, they have all set the tone for all we do today.
We live at the intersection of all of these journeys, a place where we meet God and each other in new ways. And, as I preached Sunday, things are not what they may sometimes seem. As tough as things may seem, God really is working out Her ways in all things, even when all we can see appears to be postponed justice and prolonged division.
In response, we endure and carry on, learning all we can. This week offers two learning opportunities that represent different points of intersection and I wanted to lift them up.
Tonight at 7, Union Presbyterian Seminary, our close partner, hosts a panel on what faith has to do with critical race theory. That’s a topic that can but doesn’t have to divide us, when we understand what it is and what it isn’t. Tonight’s panel will be a great way for us all to deepen our understandings. Read all about it here.
Another aspect of how you live out the Caldwell mission statement is your intent to welcome all. As with doing anti-racism work, that means listening deeply to those whose voices have been marginalized or, at the very least, not often lifted up over the din of disagreement that marks so much of the public dialogue. That’s as true about our efforts to make church open and welcoming to LGBTQ people as it is for people of color.
We can do some of that important listening – and responding – this weekend. I am so deeply and prayerfully grateful for a number of Caldwell members who have spent weeks shaping what looks like a wonderful, half-day conference this Saturday, including inclusive worship. It’s hosted by the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, a pioneer in expanding ministry to LGBTQ people since the 1990s. In particular, I am delighted that several members of Caldwell will be a part of the program, sharing their walk and witness as LGBTQ people of color. God has called them to bear witness this weekend to churches from across Charlotte about how to build a more hospitable, healing and whole church in Christ.
You can read all about that conference and register if you like here.
Interested in a New Sunday Morning Class?
For years, the ACE Class has anchored our Sunday morning Christian Formation offering in the traditional 9:45 “Sunday School” hour. The ACErs have covered so many interesting and faithful topics. Thanks be. We’ve supplemented that with formation offerings at other times and dates, looking to cover a range of interests and passions in faith study. A group of newcomers that has just wrapped up the Caldwell 101 Class is interested in helping give shape to something new that complements ACE and offers new directions. If that sounds like something you may want to take up and/or of you have ideas about the kind of class you would participate in on Sunday mornings before worship, please let me or Gail know. Or, if you would like, come to the Upper Room (above Shelby) Sunday at 9:45 a.m. to participate in a time of sharing of interests and ideas with our newcomers. This new class may take up Bible study or some other “curriculum.” The new, expanded classroom space in our new community hall will be a great place for additional offerings like this – to deepen community, forge bonds and relationships and helps us all grow in Christ’s will, love and purpose.
Speaking of the New Hall . . . .
Our contractors are putting the finishing touches, literally, on our 7,000-square feet of new and renovated space. We should get an update on occupancy soon and will let you know. That means we will be calling out for help, probably on a Saturday or two, as we move furniture, set chidren’s classrooms up and more. Stay tuned. We need you.
Finally, please don’t forget that we need your pledge to sustain Caldwell’s ministries as we look ahead to an exciting new year. Click here to pledge or send Rick Rogers and email at rrogers@caldwellpresby.org
And as we say each Sunday, may the Lord be with you there.
In Christ,
John C