Our task force at church has been meeting and working for over a year, and we hope we are nearing the end of our labor. It seemed appropriate to use Ecclesiastes 3.1-8 for our devotions:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

The simple question we started with was “what time or season are we in as a task force, as a Consistory, as a church?” The answers included building a good foundation (gather stones and build); winning approval by knowing when to speak or keep silence; good time to heal relationships.  The applications here will not be clear without the task force context, but it is good to note that multiple verses were applicable and helped us consider our desired outcomes before praying.