The past season has been quite a season – an understatement perhaps, but good to acknowledge nonetheless. It has been complicated and difficult in many ways.

Throughout this time I’ve often been reminded of the passage in Hebrews that says of Jesus, “for the joy set before him, he endured the cross.” There was a grit to Jesus’ path to the cross – a dogged “just keep putting one foot in front of the other” kind of determination that I see in him. But there was also something beyond the cross that seemed to impel him forward – something that held his vision. He both worked with what was right in front of him – “one step at a time” as Alcoholics Anonymous wisdom recommends, and he kept his “eye on the prize”, so to speak. I believe the same is to be true of us in this complex time. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, and be obedient to the small steps along the way – one step at a time – a “long obedience in the same direction” as Eugene Peterson famously put it.

We do have a few steps laid out for us in the coming months. These plans will simply help us be together as a community in a way that we haven’t been able to be for the past little while. This means, getting together, talking about where we’re at and where we’re going as well as hearing what is stirring amongst each other. It means praying together and asking questions of each other. We know there are many conversations happening amongst the community – working through the continued implications of Nathan’s arrest, trial, conviction and recent sentencing, questions about leadership in WCV, the 2019 budget, opinions about where we are heading, where we should be heading and what God is calling us to – these and others are all relevant topics for discussion and prayer. We need to hear each other, and in the midst of it, we need to hear God. This kind of conversation and dialogue together will be healing in many ways, and will also help us discern where we’re at, and where we need to be heading. But it begins, like Jesus, with one step at a time.

Here are a few of the next steps:

Our Annual General Meeting will be Monday, March 11, 7pm. At this meeting we will review our finances (as is required by the Charities Act) as well as provide lots of space for questions and dialogue. Additionally, we’ll have some clarity about leadership roles and responsibilities in WCV.

Secondly, we’re going to be having Community Meetings at which we can further our discussions as well as get some helpful input from you. These will be times to hear each other, hear God, and provide the leadership with a venue for community discernment. We are working on getting some input and inspiration from David and Anita Ruis who will help us unpack what leadership looks like in a Kingdom of God context. Watch for the exact dates of these Community Meetings but the first one will be during the last week in April, and we will likely have another in May.