Author: Webmaster

Dear Friends,

For the past two years you have been living in a state of transition, not an easy place to be. Rick had been your pastor for over twenty-four years, and imagining the church without him was both unsettling and sad. It is not uncommon for people to leave their church at such times, and that indeed happened here. But still you held firm and embraced the challenge, as step-by-step you met the tasks laid out by the Presbytery and began to envision your new future.

One bold and courageous step was your decision to seek to hire a half-time pastor, which I believe to have been a wise and prudent decision. Now, I too have decided to change my Interim position to half-time. It is the right decision for a number of reasons. The obvious, of course, is that it will save the church money, but it also gives you the opportunity to see how having a part-time pastor works and to give you a chance to make adjustments. I do want to assure you that though I will have reduced office hours, I can still be easily reached and available for pastoral concerns, and, of course, I will still be here on Sundays.

Another important point I want to make is that having a half-time pastor does not denote a diminishment or failure. It just means a shift and an adjustment, but I am certain that First Presbyterian Church is up to the task. From her beginning in 1827, she has periodically gone through challenging times, sometimes even extended periods without a pastor, but she kept going. Men and women stepped up and did what needed to be done. There was a “We Can” attitude chugging through the church’s long history. I encourage you to embrace this optimism and let go of doubt and defeatism, remembering that old adage about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar. People will not be drawn toward a church which exhibits no energy or passion. And let’s not forget that as Christians we are called to be the harbinger of the Good News.

Yes, there will be changes, but with change can come opportunity. I am hopeful that a sense of shared ministry will grow, resulting in a fifty-fifty partnership between pastor and congregation and that in that relationship will arise a sense of empowerment that will lead to a broad and vibrant ministry. The future is yours, and I am hopeful that your ministry will go far beyond these four walls.

The times they are a-changing, a fact there is no escaping. I love the image of the beautiful butterfly emerging from pupa stage and taking to flight. Change can be not only good, it can indeed be a blessing,

Following is a prayer from When I Talk to You: A Cartoonist Talks to God, by Mchael Leunig:

God help us to change. To change ourselves and to
change the world. To know the need for it. To deal
with the pain of it. To feel the joy of it. To undertake
he journey without understanding the destination.
The art of gentle revolution.

Amen

May it be so.

Blessings,
Pastor Beth