In a world where there is so little that is constant, I typically take scales of measurement for granted. A cup of milk is a cup of milk. 10 pounds of flour is the same amount of weight as 10 pounds of bricks. 100 degrees Fahrenheit is the same amount of heat when the thermometer registers that temperature. The only exception to this rule was one that I have long-recognized and accepted: the world of women’s fashion, in which the numbers representing size can mean vastly different things across different clothing labels.
I was surprised to learn, then, that a mile has not always been a consistent form of measurement. That which I assume has ALWAYS denoted a length of 5,280 feet has a widely varied history across time and place and meaning. In ancient Rome, a mile indicated 1,000 double paces (one step with each foot); the medieval English mile was 6,610 feet; the old London mile was 5,000 feet. In the Middle Ages, throughout Germany, Holland, and Scandinavia a mile indicated an arbitrary measurement, ranging anywhere from 3.25–6 English miles in length. In other contexts, a mile simply meant “a great distance” and in others it meant not a length of distance but of time—measuring about 20 minutes. The 5,280-foot mile was not codified as a measurement until Elizabeth’s reign, in which it was set by a legal act at 320 perches, the equivalent of 5,280 feet. How about that!
Ok, so what does all of this have to do with our life together at ELPC?
Since mid-April, our PNC has been spearheading our collective engagement in a data-collection process called the “Congregational Assessment Tool” or “CAT Scan.” One survey was completed by the congregation and affiliates; another by our Session; another by our Staff. A tremendous amount of data was received—about worship, mission, community, education, satisfaction, energy, engagement… While there are statistical benchmarks against which ELPC’s responses can be compared, many of the qualities being “measured” were qualitative—like involvement, energy, satisfaction. There is no one way to measure engagement, and not even one conclusion that can be drawn from the information.
Fortunately, ELPC has been working closely with an extraordinary consultant, Michelle Snyder, who has been clear to name: “Data is not discernment.” As much as we might appreciate the ease of pushing a button and having a computer spit out the qualities of an ideal pastor for ELPC, the data is a tool for the next step of the process: Discernment. In small and large groups, the PNC, Session and Congregation as a whole will be asking of ourselves what these “measurements” mean. Who are we now? Who is God calling us to be? Where are we growing? Where are we being called to grow? What do we find challenging? How prepared are we to navigate that challenge?
I’ll be honest, the task ahead may feel daunting—or simply like it is just taking too long. But the GOOD NEWS is that we worship a God whose faithful love for us cannot be contained. Scripture reminds us in Psalm 139 that the God who knows the number of hairs on each one of our heads is a God whose love reaches us wherever we may go. Psalm 103 reminds us that God’s steadfast love is as high as the heavens are above the earth—what’s more God’s steadfast love is from everlasting to everlasting.
The God of all eternity is a God of immeasurable faithfulness and love. God is with us always—as God has promised from the beginning of time and the first time worshipers gathered for a Bible Study at ELPC more than 200 years ago. God will never leave us nor forsake us. This gives me reason not only to hang in there when the in-between time feels like its dragging on, but it gives me hope. It inspires within me a curiosity about what God might be up to next through each one of us and through the Cathedral of Hope.
In a world where so little is constant—and change seems to be all around—let us hear the Good news: God is God of yesterday, today and tomorrow. God’s love never ends. Praise God!
—Pastor Heather