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A few weeks ago, Eric and I visited some old friends in New York City. Catching up as friends do, I shared with them about my new ministry at Eliot. I told them about the diversity of our congregation and the joy of our worship services. I also shared what I perceive to be areas for growth including spiritual formation, numerical growth, and financial stability. For these friends whom I love deeply, church does not really matter in a personal way. It is not part of their life or the way they practice their spirituality. They might not notice if their neighborhood church closed. As we talked, I wondered what they think about my work. I felt a need to justify what we do and explain why it should matter not only to the people who sit in the pews but also to the wider community. I found myself wondering whether Lowell would notice if Eliot Church were not here anymore.

Church matters when the church does not exist for itself. Our own survival is not an end in and of itself. I strongly believe that our primary call is to invite people to connect or reconnect with Jesus Christ, to share the reconciling love of Christ in our congregation, and to build a more Christ-like community in Lowell and beyond. This is not so different from the mission that Eliot Church articulated during your pastor search process and that the Session recently reaffirmed at their retreat last Saturday: Eliot is called by God through Jesus Christ to serve God’s children, bring the Word of God to the community, and demonstrate that God treasures each person.

As a small congregation, we cannot reach every person nor meet every need in our city. Nor are we called to do all that. Just as individual members are but part of the body, so our congregation is but one part of the work God is doing in the world. The Session used their retreat to identify specific areas where Eliot is called and gifted to serve God’s children, including:

• feeding people’s spiritual hunger

• increasing our cultural diversity while strengthening the relationships between us

• building a youth program that serves not only our youth but reaches youth outside the church

• communicating Eliot’s ministry internally and externally

With a mission statement that looks outward and these clearly articulated goals, Eliot is on the path to remain a church that matters, a church that is proclaiming Jesus Christ. It is true that we need to see numerical and financial growth in order to sustain this ministry over the next decade and beyond. With that in mind, I hope you will reflect on why Eliot Church matters to you and how we can make a difference in the lives of our neighbors, including neighbors who might think church does not matter. I further hope you will look for opportunities to share what you have experienced here and invite your family, friends, and neighbors to be part of this community and join in the mission that God is giving us.

As I write this letter, Eliot Presbyterian is in the process of selecting, examining, electing, ordaining, and installing new leaders for our congregation. The nine people who have been chosen by God through the voice of the nominating committee have shared their stories of faith with me and with the Session. These are men and women from a variety of backgrounds who have encountered Jesus in powerful ways – sometimes as children or teenagers, other times as adults. All of them are practicing daily to trust in the Lord through the ups and downs of life and to grow deeper in their discipleship. You, the members of Eliot Church, will confirm their call by electing them during our congregational meeting on January 31.

In the Presbyterian Church, elders and deacons (and pastors) are elected to fulfill certain functions in the life of the church. Elders have the job of governing the church, overseeing things like the church finances, the selection of curriculum for Sunday School, maintaining the building, and ensuring that God’s Word is preached from our pulpit. Deacons have the job of pastoral care through prayer and visitation. They pray every week for the names submitted on those yellow prayer slips, and they assist me in visiting shut-ins. They also have the job of compassionate care for those outside of our congregation through ministries like St. Paul’s Kitchen and delivering food to Open Pantry. Both elders and deacons have special jobs to do in the church, and they are chosen to serve because they exhibit Christian character and the gifts to do the job. However, our constitution reminds us that they have no special status either in the church or with God. All people are equal before God – equally in need of God’s grace and equal in access to the power of God’s Holy Spirit – including elders, deacons, and pastors.  And equally in need of your prayer. As we elect new elders and deacons, I invite you to pray for them, that they may lead with wisdom, with grace, and with the power of the Holy Spirit.

The other interesting thing about elders in the Presbyterian Church is that even though they are elected by the congregation, they are not elected to represent the congregation. This is different from what we expect of our legislators that we send to Beacon Hill and Washington, D.C. Instead of listening to the people and doing what the people want, elders in the Presbyterian Church are called to listen to the Holy Spirit and lead the congregation in doing what God wants. This is a significant task, and one that our elders hold with great humility. In the coming year, our elders will be listening closely for the voice of the Holy Spirit as they discern where God is calling Eliot to go and who God is calling Eliot to be in the years ahead. 

I am grateful for the men and women whom God has called to lead this congregation. For those who are ending their time of service, let us say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” They have led with tenacity through the difficult years without and installed pastor. For those coming on the session and the diaconate, let us say, “Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” for there is yet much work to do as we move toward the future God is promising. By God’s grace and with Christ-like leaders, it will be a good future indeed.