Vision Sunday, 2023 By Pastor Melinda Sparks-Renner
I am not sure if I told all of you this yet, but Fall is my favorite season in Illinois. I love wearing a cardigan in September while sitting outside reading, thinking, writing, praying, and dreaming. I also love sitting outside and watching the leaves slowly change colors, all of those beautiful, rich, Fall colors. Feeling the cool air and seeing the gorgeous variations of burgundy, orange, and yellow is magical for me. I feel the presence of God at so many points throughout my day, but never more keenly than while wearing a burnt orange cardigan in 64-degree weather.
As we have just entered a new church year, I have reflected on how good God has been to Imago. We are tremendously lucky for the relatively smooth waters that we have been sailing on, and I don’t take a bit of that for granted. Relationships are growing, friendships are deepening, burdens are made lighter, laughter is frequent, and broken places in each of us are healing. We are becoming stronger together, and it gives me great joy. You are all more amazing than you know.
Vision Sunday has been a yearly tradition of Imago from the beginning. It’s a day to celebrate where we’ve been and where we hope to go. We have accomplished great things over the past year, with many “wins.” And where we hope to go is even better. I am excited for our future and all the “wins” to come.
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (KJV) This Hebrew word, “vision,” translates to “divine communication.” For me, who has been baptized for many, many years into “church-y” language, I’ve always interpreted this verse to mean that there must be a five-year plan or broad trajectory for the church. And while it’s a good thing to have long-term goals, and we should, translating the word “vision” tells me otherwise.
The Message translation is much more to the point of it all, “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals they are most blessed.”
I am convinced that a large part of my calling as your shepherd is helping you see what God is doing around us at Imago, in Peoria, and in the world. I want you to see what I see, how God is working around us. Henry Blackaby in his book, Experiencing God, talks of how we don’t need to dream up things that we want to do for God - all good and worthwhile things -but instead, we watch, look around us, and see where God is already working and join God there.
This Sunday, I will share where I see God working around us and prayerfully, lead us towards a vision for Imago for the next year that “attends to what (God) reveals.” But I believe that all of us should have a vision for Imago. Each of us has a perspective of how we see God working around us and those perspectives are important. You see God working in places and people, I do not see. You are attending to what God reveals to you and I want to hear about it. That’s why I ask you to tell me your vision for Imago - where do you see God working? Bonus points if it’s burgundy leaves and burnt orange cardigans.