Luke’s 9th chapter describes an amazing scene, with Jesus teaching multitudes of people. But it is late in the day, they are in a remote location and they have to be feed too. Jesus’ plan is that his 12 disciples take responsibility for the situation. They don’t want to, they feel under resourced and completely unprepared, which they were. It didn’t matter, he wants them to step up to a great big leadership challenge, to lean into a problem that was not their problem and to do it under his direction.
He could have fed the crowd in any way he wanted to, but he wanted to do it through the 12 disciples. Same for us, God can bless the world any way he wants to, but he wants to do it through us, through the disciples of his son so that the world may come to believe that Jesus is Lord.
A few of us from the staff had a fascinating lunch this past week with Dr. Rod Mortel, who coordinates Haiti outreach efforts for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Dr. Mortel was explaining to us that some communities in Haiti are overrun with children, homeless, hungry, abandoned children. He explained that to get one of these kids off the streets and fed and cared for and educated, to get them in school with school books and uniforms, to give them a plan for their future costs about 65-70 cents a day.
The upshot of the conversation is that we’re going to Haiti.
Our Weekend Director, Brian Crook is transitioning this summer into a new job: our first ever full time staff guy for missions and service. We want to take our mission and service outreach to a whole new level, and that means it needs more coordination and leadership. We want to do this locally, nationally and internationally. Brian and I are going to Haiti this summer, with Dr. Mortel as our guide. We hope to identify a church community which will be a good match for us in forming a strategic partnership there just as we are currently doing in Nigeria. We are interested in exploring a sustained commitment that includes service and support, with special focus on the children.
Luke goes on to tell us what happened when the disciples shared what they had: the Lord turned it into a superabundance. That’s the pattern: God gives us the world and everything in it. And then he asks for just a little bit back. And even then, he promises to give back to us…to give more back to us. Because, God’s ability to bless us and send us blessings is not limited. It’s limitless. His ability is limitless, his willingness is limited…to our willingness to bless others.
We’re Hiring
Brian’s move to a new position on staff leaves an opening to fill. There are also some other staff needs that have gone unfilled. So, we’re interested in hiring this summer, to continue to build our team and become a still more robust organization in the year ahead. If you are already a part of our team, in a volunteer staff position, and would like to consider transitioning to a part time or full time position, if you are committed to our mission and purpose, if you feel you would be a good addition to our Pastoral Team, let us know. We will be happy to give you more details about the positions we’re considering adding and discussing with you if you’d be a good fit. Contact Maria Folsom-Kovarik our Director of Adult Ministry: mkovarik@churchnativity.org.
Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said,
“Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.
Jesus replied: “You give them something to eat.”
Luke 9.12-13
