clean out

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This week I did a bit of cleaning out. Ok, I actually did a lot. We have this closet. If you spend much time around the church, you know that with so many people, a lot gets crammed into closets, so I won't have to explain what it was like. 

One of the treasures I found was this painting and six others. I had seen a few of the series, but this gave me an occasion to see all of them together. They are unique and beautiful. There were other things that have been stored in there, and were not as beautiful, or just hadn't been used for at least the four years since I've been there. Some of them went away. 

The end goal was to straighten up a meeting room that, like the closet, is used by multiple people and groups, and had become a bit encumbered. It was usable, but now it's in much better shape. Now it's ready to be a space where people can connect with one another and with God. 

The clutter, which just happens, has to be cleaned out from time to time, otherwise it clogs things up. Cleaning up and cleaning out is a practice in priority setting. We get to asking questions like: what's really important? What do we actually use and need? What helps to further our mission, and what is just hanging around clogging things up? 

Now I feel ready to get on with the fall; with ministry; with the mission. 

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