February was an interesting month, wasn’t it? Seems like it’s replacing March with its “lamb and lion”
weather, or maybe we’re just ramping up for March. I sure hope February was the lion and March will be the
lamb!
But one very significant “Lamb and Lion” thing happened at Faith Community during our 2023 Leadership
Summit in February. And by “Lamb and Lion” I mean it was a God-thing. It wasn’t like the wind of the Spirit
came blowing through and swept us all off our feet (we aren’t called the “Frozen Chosen” for nothing, after
all!). But instead, it was more like the power of the Holy Spirit participated with us as a conversation
partner at our tables, infusing our discussions with wisdom, helping us to hear and follow God’s leading. It
wasn’t overwhelming, but it was compelling.
And together, we drew up a statement that expresses well the purpose of Faith Community. It’s brilliant in its
simplicity. It’s concise but allows for a broad and inclusive practice. It’s biblical and contemporary all at the
same time. It’s a mission statement, but doesn’t replace the “Hearing. Trusting. Acting. Sharing.” statement.
It’s a statement of purpose, a tagline of sorts, a “slogan” in the best sense of the word.
“Aw, c’mon, Pastor! What is it already?”
Ok. Enough with the teasers.
Our new statement is: <drum roll please>
Faith Community Presbyterian Church serves God by serving others.
What do you think? It’s us, isn’t it? It’s perfect! It embodies our commitment to God and to mission and
service. It incorporates our warm and enthusiastic worship and uplifting music. It gets at the desire to grow in
our relationship with God, to spread God’s kingdom in Novi and beyond, to listen for those whose needs we
can address, to participate in a partnership with our sister church.
And we can use it to assess all that we’re doing and anything that may come up in the future. Does it help us
serve God or others? If we can answer “yes” to that question when we prepare our committee calendars and
our church activities, we can be sure we are living into our call. It is a good measuring stick for our ministries
and a pithy statement of our purpose together. It’s who we are as the Faith Community on 10 Mile Road.
What a mighty Lamb we follow. What a gracious Lion who leads us!
May March 2023 find us faithful to the Lamb and Lion we serve by serving others!
Our 2023 Leadership Summit, part 2 will be held on March 18, 9am-12pm. Join us as we sit at the feet of the
Lamb, our Lion!
-Michelle