In preparation for the Bishop’s visitation to our congregation in June 2025, our church committee members were asked to each write a piece or draw a picture of our congregation. The five individual pictures were then combined and refined by the church committee into a combined view of our congregation.
This was an interesting exercise, strengthening the exchange of our individual ideas of joy and fears relating to our congregation.
The committee began by sharing and discussing our individual drawings and reflections and then used computer technology to combine these ideas into the image presented to the Bishop’s team and shown here. The image cannot depict all our thoughts and is far from perfect (note the leaves falling from the tree, supposed to depict the loss of members).
Our congregation is depicted as a tree rooted in Christ, with his word providing life like water does to a tree. The congregation includes many different groups of people, all supported by the same stem.
The church building provides a place of sanctuary. Congregation members experience in fellowship and worship around the altar and tables in our homes.
Our congregation lives in a world that is not all filled by sunshine, there are dark clouds threatening to overwhelm us. One problem experienced specifically by the church committee is that there are numerous tasks that need to done in the daily life of a congregation, yet there is always a need for more helpers.
God’s Grace provides the sunshine, i.e. the energy required by the tree to live and grow and to overcome the darkness and problems. In the image, His Grace surrounds the congregation, depicted both as the bright sunlight and as one of the supporting roots.
Church Committee 2025: Ingrid, Barbara, Ralph, Bernhard and Sietske
