Church,
What a year. In just the past 12 months, you called a new Senior Minister and Associate Minister, became an Open and Affirming Congregation, celebrated two baptisms, welcomed 22 new members, and raised $64,000 more than last year's stewardship campaign.
We have a record number of Vine Streeters marching in the Pride Parade this Saturday. We were featured on the front page of The Tennessean for our rich history and vision for the future. We hosted countless musical events in our space, and awarded more than $30,000 in community ministry grants to 18 nonprofit organizations.
These moments are no small thing – they tell a story of a church “on the move,” a church that sets the table wide and keeps pulling up more chairs.
While I celebrate the big moments, I also know that “mustard seed” moments, those small, seemingly insignificant snapshots of our community, reveal who Vine Street truly is. Remember the ice storm? Our church opened its doors that week for Room in the Inn when few churches could. Or how about the myriad cakes you all baked for our youth fundraiser, showing us how much you care about our young people? I have never seen a cake shaped like a book!
I reflect on the countless members who scrub pots and pans after large events, doing the quiet work of service without any recognition. I give thanks for the Sunday school teachers who, week after week, offer donuts and gospel to this community of seekers, both young and old. I think about your foreheads marked with ash and your feet washed on Maundy Thursday – how they bear witness to lives that have known both grace and struggle, reminding me that every one of us has a story to tell.
All to say, our accomplishments are worth celebrating. But these small moments tell me even more about who we are. As I preached on Sunday, we are a "broken, blended family" – and I would add one more word: blessed. By God's grace, we continue to become the church we are called to be, finding God at work both in the milestones and in the mustard seeds. As we look toward this next year, I can't wait to see what God has in store for us – and what God has in store for the world through us.
- Margie