SOME THOUGHTS ON PARBUCKLING

     

           I was entranced watching the work around the Costa Concordia (cruise ship) off the coast of Sicily.  Lots of things about it make really good illustrations about all sorts of topics, even if they are not going to make it into a sermon ever.  But it can make it into a blog!

           Many months ago, the Concordia wreck got stabilized, and then the divers and engineers started to figure out what they had to work with.  Then they spent a long time developing plans, testing scenarios, getting things thought out.  Another long period of time was building the equipment needed and getting it in place.  Finally, only last week, 20 months after the ship scraped bottom and capsized, did they get to the first big salvage effort.  Now that they have it upright, they had a lot to do for the next stage of effort.

            We are doing a kind of parbuckling at Christ Church right now: working on goals, beginning an assessment and evaluation process with our committees and consistory and very soon we will have a search committee which will prepare a church profile and then seek candidates for the pastorate here. While there is much work going on, a lot of is is not very obvious. 

            As with the Costa Concordia we are working on the parbuckling, refloating, refitting, and resailing of Christ Church. (I know the Costa Concordia, will decidedly not cruise again. But, Christ Church certainly is and will – analogies only stretch so far….)

            In terms of my gimmicky parallel, Christ Church and the people who love it want it not just upright and salvaged, but sailing the seas of the gospel. We will continue to work on our plans of action to meet our transitional goals and to undertake the pastoral search. As with the Costa Concordia, when we carefully do each part and do it well, things will go as we planned (and hopefully as God has planned) and we will find the sailing to be exciting and good.

Blessings – Laura Lee

*Note - most of these ideas were taken from a colleague/friend - David Ashby - I just shaped them a bit!