Back in 2012, Bedford Presbyterian Church was in a time of transition and discernment. The Senior Pastor had left to go to another congregation and the idea of the Co-Pastor model had been approved, in theory. But, in addition to all of the conversations that took place around the type of leadership model the church would have, there was also a long season of asking questions like,
Who are we, as a congregation? What are our priorities? What are our gifts?
What are the things about us that are unique? When have we been at our best?
And, based on the answers to all-of-the-above, What is God calling us to do?
At the end of the discernment process, a report was published that organized the church’s priorities into five ministry goals. This report was one of very many things that excited me about Bedford Presbyterian Church when I interviewed in the summer of 2013. And, over the course of the next seven years, or so, we sought to live out these goals. The goal with the most staying-power was the one called “Mission Outpost” – the idea that BPC would be a place from which people would be sent out into the world to serve God and neighbor. We actually call a part of our building – the part with the Bedford Community Food Pantry – the Mission Outpost and, in 2020, we renovated that part of the building to expand the kinds of missions that we could support.
But there was also this other thing that happened in 2020 – one Co-Pastor retired and the other Co-Pastor stayed on and became the Solo Pastor and also. . . the pandemic. If we had ministry goals and a certain structure prior to the pandemic, everything changed during the pandemic. All of us involved in the leadership of the congregation were called upon to use our gifts in ways that we had never imagined and the overall size, shape, and scope of our ministry to and through BPC shifted as well.
In 2025 – five years after the height of the pandemic – the Session sought to refocus on who we have become in the intervening years. And, this Fall, we are starting another season of discernment through our “Good Futures” initiative.
For the last two Sundays, if you’ve been in the worship service, you have been invited to answer a question that has been printed on a colored slip of paper. The answers we have received to these questions have covered an incredible amount of ground – celebrating the inspiring ministry of our congregation and pointing to the moments in which we have been at our best. Little by little, the colored slips of paper that you have used in worship are making their way to the wall in the Fellowship Hall and some themes are arising.
This coming Sunday, you are invited to reflect on the question, “What is different about Bedford Presbyterian Church, compared to other congregations, in a positive sense?” We are a unique part of the Body of Christ with a lot to celebrate and share.
Just so you know, if you’re not able to be in church to fill out your own slip of paper, you can send your answer to the weekly question via e-mail, snail mail, or voice mail. Your insights are so helpful in this season of discernment!
Thank you!
See you in church!
Grace and Peace,
John
————
Prepare for Worship
This Week: “On Whose Authority?” (Late Adopters or Artificial Adapters)
Read Matthew 21:23-32
Read Philippians 2:1-13
Read Psalm 25
Read or sing Hymn # 773 – “Heaven Shall Not Wait”