I have been participating with other staff and lay leaders of the church in a study called Draw the Circle, The 40 Day Prayer Challenge, by Mark Batterson.  It's a very powerful witness to the power of prayer.  So far, my favorite words come from the lesson on Day 3 centered on Joshua 3:5, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." 

 The 5-Year Vision for Still Waters Adult Day Center that was developed in March surely speaks to this verse.  Throughout the visioning process, we sought to be thorough, inclusive, and communicate every step along the way.  We worked hard.  We created a vision that is ambitious, but attainable.  We prayed throughout the process for direction and continued blessings on this place.  Batterson writes, "We need to work like it depends on us, but we also need to pray like it depends on God."  I thought we had it covered.

 Then, well, - we got put on hold.

 In June, the Leadership Team of Castleton UMC was asked to affirm and support the 5-year Vision of Still Waters as set forth in the consultant's report of March, 2014.  Their response was positive, however, there was a caveat. Per their words:

"We are unable to affirm (Motion #1) in its entirety (Expanding our current physical capacity so a greater number of people can benefit from this ministry"). We (the Leadership Team) are currently assessing our facilities and do not feel we are in a position at the current time to affirm expansion.  A firm decision related to expansion will be made not later than May of 2015."

 Bad news?  Not necessarily.  I know our Visioning Team would have preferred to get an unqualified affirmation of the Vision. To their credit, however, the Leadership Team recognized that expansion is the cornerstone of the Vision and it's their call on what that will look like in terms of space.  They admitted that the church lacks an overall plan for the future use of space at this location, and have put themselves on record to create one. 

 Furthermore, all of the remaining goals of the Vision:  Expanded program offerings for guests, Developing programs and services to address the needs of caregivers, and Forging a deeper connection with the larger CUMC family, were affirmed as stated.  In addition, the Leadership Team signed off on creation of a Still Waters Advisory Team with specific duties and responsibilities.  I plan to have this group in place by late fall.  There are plenty of projects to keep them busy until we get resolution on the space issue.

As I contemplate being "on hold", it occurred to me that my share of responsibility is helping to guide the future direction of Still Waters for the next 5 years, but God's share of responsibility is much, much larger. Perhaps time will reveal a different vision for Still Waters, one that we could not have dreamed a year ago when this process began.  Perhaps the Still Waters Vision will inspire similar efforts in other ministry areas.  Perhaps some who have not been enthusiastic about the work being done here will have a change of heart. 

 My job is to work like it depends on me and pray like it depends on God.  That's what I plan to do.