The Latter Splendor

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes). In pairs or groups of three, have participants think about their vocation, community, church, personal abilities, some event or time in history, and so on, and then ask: “What, for you, is an example of ‘the glory that once was’?”

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read Haggai 2:1-9.

• Haggai has brought a remnant of people back to a devastated homeland. It is a time of ambivalence—of both hope and despair. How was this true for the Jewish community? What were their difficulties, and what opportunities could they find?
• When considering “the glory that once was” for yourself, can you recall the trajectory that led to the current reality? (For example, the church was thriving, but there was a crisis of some kind, and then…; your job was going great, but you were injured, and then…).
• What can you learn from this past (without dwelling or getting stuck) that helps you enter a new future?
• As people of God, how have you experienced God’s presence (or not) when there was some crisis or turning point in your life?
• What prophetic voices among you can see the trajectory of your current course? Who can call you to “correction”? Are they respected? Listened to? How do you, or can you, “see the signs of the times” and know what and whom to trust?

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End with the following prayer, a similar prayer, or the Lord’s Prayer:

O God of new beginnings, you always show us the way. We ignore it; don’t understand it; try but fail to follow it. And then, light comes. Your wisdom penetrates the confusion and uncertainty. And then we are energized with your holy power. Help us to see “the way out of no way” when we are stuck; the path through resistance when we are thwarted; the opportunities embedded in crises when they come. You are the way; for that, we give you thanks and praise. Amen.

The Rev. Dr. Diana Hynson is an elder who has served small, medium, and large churches in urban, suburban, and rural areas of the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference. A native of Maryland, she now resides in Pennsylvania, by way of a thirty-year career in United Methodist agencies in Nashville, Tennessee.