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Message from Ann Rosendale

Changes of Scenery

By Ann Rosendale, pastoral intern

The scenery seems to be changing all around me these days. Sometimes the changes happen faster than I can keep up with them. I am now in a new place; no longer in a dorm room, no longer in a classroom, no longer living on the east coast. I am now surrounded by new faces and new things to learn. Even the seasons are starting to change, with colored and falling leaves catching my attention outside. The scenery is changing.

Here at St. Paul, the scenery is changing too. I think about how, even in the short time that I have been a part of this community, the look of our facility has changed, with a new Memorial Garden now dedicated, and an old house now gone. Inside of the building, a new organ changes the scenery of the sanctuary every Sunday. And new faces! We are always seeing new faces. People come through our doors daily, looking for friendly folks to welcome them into this place of worship. The scenery is changing indeed.

Change has never been the easiest thing for me. I feel unsettled when I have to move, or when I have to relinquish familiar surroundings for something new and uncertain. Change is uncomfortable. But it is so important.

I think sometimes about what life would be like if the seasons didn’t change, if I never moved, if I never met new people or learned new things. Life would be so boring! Variety is indeed the spice of life. We need change to keep things fresh and interesting. We need change to keep us on our toes, not stagnant or complacent.

The great thing about a change in scenery is the way that it changes us. When Autumn begins, I get to change my wardrobe. When I meet new people, I become open to new ideas and ways of living. As strange and scary as these changes may feel (I have no idea where I’m going to come up with a new fall wardrobe), they are exciting and refreshing. They give me the new perspective I need to move forward.

I am grateful for a God who embraces change even when I am timid about it. God seems to have a good gauge on when it’s time for a change, and God is not afraid about a change of scenery. Our Lord promises to go through change with us, to be stability for us when we need it, and to be radically fresh and new when we need that too. Most of all, the Holy Spirit encourages us to grow and change, to not remain settled, but to keep moving to new places and trying new things.

So, what about you? Is the scenery changing around you? Do you need a change of scenery? Is God calling you to a new appreciation of the scenery that you are seeing?

I would invite you this week to consider changing your scenery. Maybe that means sitting at a different lunch table. Maybe it means sitting in a new pew. Maybe your change of scenery will come by introducing yourself to someone new and unlike yourself. Maybe you would like to entertain change by stepping out of the office for a day and serving those in need by doing something that you don’t normally do.

However your scenery changes this week, enter into that change confidently, knowing that we have a God who journeys through change with us and will not ever let us go.

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