Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink. Certainly the body isn’t one part but many.- 1 Cor. 12:12-14
We often hear this passage used as a way to remind folks that every individual in the church is a unique and valued member and that all have gifts and talents to share. While this is a good and needed use of this passage it’s not the only way we can understand it. This passage can also enlighten and encourage our cooperation with other congregations, Presbyterian and otherwise, as they and BPC as a whole are a part of the body of Christ. Just as individual members of BPC have unique and special gifts to offer, so does each congregation in the Buffalo Community, our Presbytery, and beyond.
Cooperation with other congregations is not a new idea at BPC, indeed we have worked with other churches over the years to send people on mission trips, worship together, and more. In continuation of this spirit and the recognition that we aren’t the body of Christ without our sister congregations we have several collaborative ministries in the works in 2024 and hopefully beyond.
This Lent we’ll be joining once again with our neighbors from Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church for Soup Suppers. We’ll have a great time fellowshipping with one another as well as studying scripture and engaging in a creative endeavor. The folks from SOJ will also be joining us for Ash Wednesday worship as we together mark the beginning of Lent and our dependance on God.
This summer we are partnering with United Presbyterian Church in Rockford and Clearwater Forest Camp to provide VBS in a Van. We co-wrote a grant to the presbytery, which we received, allowing us to bring the camp staff to Wright County for a week in June, where they will lead our churches (one in the morning, the other in the evening) in offering VBS to the kids in our communities. While this will help take some of the planning and leadership burden off our churches by utilizing the expertise of the camp staff it will still give us plenty of opportunities to volunteer and reach out to our communities.
Our third collaborative effort is to begin a youth group with the Presbyterian Churches in Long Lake, Plymouth, and Maple Plain. While each of our congregations has a hard time maintaining individual youth groups at the moment we are hopeful that together we can provide opportunities to help our teens grow in their faith and relationships with each other. This effort is still in the very early planning stages, but we hope to have an event by the spring.
Together we are the body of Christ and individually members of it. Please hold all of these opportunities and our congregational partners in prayer. If you are interested in helping out with any of these collaborative efforts, please let me know.
God’s Blessings,
Pastor Brian
