Father Paul's Ponderings

Cronos versus Kairos
 
I’m not a great Greek student, but these two words really mean something special. “Cronos” means the process of daily progression, that is clock time. It ticks with the regularity of the Universe’s function. This is time that comes and goes on a schedule and once experienced disappears forever. There are exactly 86,400 seconds in every day. Once they’re used, they disappear forever. “Kairos” means God’s time. This time is flexible, repeatable, and not controlled by us. We occasionally have experiences that fly by and some that last a long time. Measured by the clock there may be no difference, but they feel different. That’s where we are right now. With the recent State Supreme court decision in favor of the continuing Episcopal Diocese of SC, the time that went before seemed to last forever, now the time for planning and talking and making decisions is racing towards us. I’m fairly certain that we have years ahead of us before this reunion is fully worked out, but currently there seems a breathlessness about getting down to business about it.
 
We are already starting to work on the “what ifs.” There is much speculation about size of congregation, building use, future plans, and so on. But let’s slow down and get on a path that leads us to God’s plan, not just our own. How do we do that? Well, remember that it took eons to create the earth, which we hope won’t be the case here, but it will take time to accomplish all we need. To begin at the beginning, we need to talk. We need to meet each other again and talk about where we came from, how we’re feeling about this change and to be patient listeners. That sounds like slowing down to a crawl, but everyone deserves a chance to speak. Only then can we discuss next steps, and how we might travel together as a congregation. If we move too fast we will lose some in the confusion. So, I propose to have a series of conversations that will serve as introductions. Everyone will have a chance to speak and by knowing one another on a deeper level we will be able to discern where God will have us go. Remember all the Biblical journeys. The people did not always know where they were going (and often complained about it) but by taking our time, we will give God a chance to speak to our hearts and travel with us along the way.
 
As we embark on this journey, please pray for all who have been affected by this Court decision. All of us, on both sides of the issue, have been and will continue to be touched by it. Some of that reality will take a long time to emerge. Be patient. Practice forbearance and open-mindedness and let’s all see where this journey takes us.

As part of our ongoing development, the Mission Committee has initiated, with Ginny King and Paul Gilbert as organizers, a Wednesday night series of fellowship. Beginning at 6 and concluding at 8, we’ll share a meal, discussion and brief worship. We’ll begin on September 13 and continue October 18, Nov. 15 and December 20. The first program will simply be a discussion about what we would all like for content. We have several suggestions, but everyone needs to be heard. This is an important step for us as a worship group. It’s a chance to meet one another informally and enjoy an evening together. I hope to see you there.

Please Note: I will be changing my day at Edisto to Wednesday beginning September 6.
 
In Christ,
Fr. Paul