Wasn't sure where I was going to worship this week. Hadn't planned ahead and wasn't really feeling a pull to any place in particular. Decided it might be the week to go to the closest UMC to the apartment.
I arrived just as the prelude was playing. The church begins worship with announcements and prayer concerns followed by intercessory prayer. They then "pray for the nation". It was then that I noticed the American flag and the Christian flag were in the wrong locations in the sanctuary. As the lector came forward, I realized that the pulpit and the lectern were also backwards!
The message itself was well crafted. The most interesting thing though wasn't the words, but the optics. There were twins, about fourteen months, moving around the sanctuary. Just after the pastor shared that he had to unfriend his son on facebook this week due to the tenor of his posts, the toddling twin made his way to the chancel area and the pastor, telling the mom it was okay, picked up the boy and continued to preach.
The pastor, holding a young boy, talked about his estrangement from his son.
His message contained the Lord unchoosing Saul as king of Israel due to poor choices and Solomon loosing the kingdom due to his poor choices. All while holding the hope of a better future in his arms.
Lots to ponder.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Second Pulpit Supply
This week, I just couldn't focus on sermon prep. I finally pulled up my go to resources and cut and pasted the three sermon helps into a coherent whole that I could preach.
It went over well. I was able to lend my "voice" to the narrative and it was well accepted by the congregation.
I did, however, choose to share about my accepting the request to be a regular in the pulpit supply chain. As I explained how I felt an affinity to this congregation and their struggle over the last year and the decisions that need to be made for their future and how those struggles parallel my own, somehow a few in the congregation got the impression that I was contemplating accepting a call to be their next pastor! Thankfully, they openly voiced their confusion and I was able to set the record straight.
Will be preaching here again in two weeks. Kicking off Advent for them on a very busy holiday weekend of my own.
It went over well. I was able to lend my "voice" to the narrative and it was well accepted by the congregation.
I did, however, choose to share about my accepting the request to be a regular in the pulpit supply chain. As I explained how I felt an affinity to this congregation and their struggle over the last year and the decisions that need to be made for their future and how those struggles parallel my own, somehow a few in the congregation got the impression that I was contemplating accepting a call to be their next pastor! Thankfully, they openly voiced their confusion and I was able to set the record straight.
Will be preaching here again in two weeks. Kicking off Advent for them on a very busy holiday weekend of my own.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Another Colleague
Today I wrapped up my ministerial colleagues, except for the one I am leaving for Advent.
The church has an average attendance of 20 and there were about that in worship. The service began with a reading of the announcements. Three whole bulletin pages of them! Plus two that didn't make it into the bulletin.
We sang out of the UM Hymnal and "that dreaded Faith We Sing". Which is funny, because the chosen song was a hymn not contemporary music. All music was played on an organ, but only the main notes were played and it was still hard to follow. The woman behind me did not have a singing voice and often sang wrong words. She may have been distracted by her grandson. After worship, the woman in front of me commented on my "nice singing voice".
The pastor filled in for the children's message. She noted that she did not normally do the children's message and had just found out the regular was sick today. She was very uncomfortable with her lack of preparation and did not keep the children's attention after allowing the young boy to retell last week's message.
Her sermon was very well crafted. She began with an explanation of lectionary texts and a discussion of the Pharisees and Sadducees relating to the writings of Josephus. The message was based on Luke and the question of who will we spend our time in heaven with.
I had only heard this pastor preach once before in an ecumenical service and quite enjoyed her message today. It is not my intention to repeat churches as there are so many churches to explore, but I would recommend this pastor's messages.
The church has an average attendance of 20 and there were about that in worship. The service began with a reading of the announcements. Three whole bulletin pages of them! Plus two that didn't make it into the bulletin.
We sang out of the UM Hymnal and "that dreaded Faith We Sing". Which is funny, because the chosen song was a hymn not contemporary music. All music was played on an organ, but only the main notes were played and it was still hard to follow. The woman behind me did not have a singing voice and often sang wrong words. She may have been distracted by her grandson. After worship, the woman in front of me commented on my "nice singing voice".
The pastor filled in for the children's message. She noted that she did not normally do the children's message and had just found out the regular was sick today. She was very uncomfortable with her lack of preparation and did not keep the children's attention after allowing the young boy to retell last week's message.
Her sermon was very well crafted. She began with an explanation of lectionary texts and a discussion of the Pharisees and Sadducees relating to the writings of Josephus. The message was based on Luke and the question of who will we spend our time in heaven with.
I had only heard this pastor preach once before in an ecumenical service and quite enjoyed her message today. It is not my intention to repeat churches as there are so many churches to explore, but I would recommend this pastor's messages.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
A little more,,,
I have focused on my weekly worship experienced, this post will be on some of the ways I am earning extra income during this sabbatical year.
I have noted that I am preaching one Sunday per month. The stipend for this is quite generous and includes mileage. I hope to continue to offer a message to this congregation for the balance of the year.
I got a call to do a funeral for a family when their mother died. They had asked me to do their father's funeral during my first few months here though they had no direct connection to the church. Mom and Dad had been married at the church parsonage, but I'm not sure they had ever really attended. The funny thing was, as I reviewed the service I did for Dad, I remember vividly meeting with this family and the conversation that ensued. Since the family does not have a lot of resources, the stipend was on the low side. Not complaining, just noting. It was a joy to catch up with this family.
I did write about the Sunday that I was at Fall Fest trying to sell hats. It was a complete disaster. I spent $110 on the space. Plus I bought two heads for display. Plus the money spent on the special yarns to supplement the boxes of yarn I still had from the yard sales in Bradford County. One hat was all I sold over the two days. $20 of which $5 I gave to Jack to buy chili. I still have totes full of hats. It was suggested that I contact Binghamton General as they may have a program where all new borns go home with a hat and they may be interested in buying the hats. I have not made that phone call as of yet.
The Fall Fest was supposed to be a one time only venture. However, since it was such a disaster, I decided that I would try again with a local bazaar. I am sending off my $12 table fee and praying that I manage to sell some hats at the VFW venue. I'm toying with having a single $15 price on all the hats rather than $15 on the medium and $20 for the large. Nothing lead me to believe my pricing was off at the ski resort, but maybe the thought of getting a discount will spur a purchase.
I did do some transcribing during August. I am still in the probationary stage and may not actually get hired by the company. It seems there are some reviewers who enjoy giving low scores. One day I transcribed two very similar videos from the same company for the same product. One review gave me a 2 while the other reviewer gave me a 5. How do you fight that?
This week, I returned to my former municipality to continue as Judge of Elections. It's a very long day, but the pay is actually better than my substitute teaching. I also attended the training and received the remuneration for that time also.
My main supplemental income comes from the substitute teaching. I am only substituting in the local school district. I have signed up for some of the music rooms. I did not enjoy them as I mostly wrangled the kids for the entire class period with no attempt at teaching. The high school isn't really much better. I end up sitting watching the kids not doing the worksheet that is provided for the day. Elementary is another matter altogether. I have stuck with the fourth and fifth grade classes and actually get to teach. They do block teaching so I teach the same lesson four times each day with two shorter special classes. I also do lunch or recess duty on elementary days. I will continue to target the elementary classes, but will take jobs in the high school on weeks that I need another day. I have asked to not be 'on call' though I did get a call to help on a day that four high school teachers were not filled.
As my reserve dwindles, I just praise God for allowing me to have a bank to fall back on during this sabbatical. Also, we submitted the paperwork for the lunch program at school and because of my level of income were able to get free lunches at school. The paperwork was also cross filed with the county and through that we are receiving food stamps and insurance. Since we had planned to be without insurance this year, a gamble that may or may not have worked out, it was another God thing that we rejoiced over. We are also supplementing with food distribution at the school. The local food bank has been getting regular donations of produce. I never seem to pick up fruits and veggies so its a nice surprise each month to see what is sent up for the families. Just like each week experiencing a new and different worship experience, this foray into the democratic side of life is a growing experience that I expect to benefit from in my next pastorate.
If any other sources of income present themselves, I will post about them.
I have noted that I am preaching one Sunday per month. The stipend for this is quite generous and includes mileage. I hope to continue to offer a message to this congregation for the balance of the year.
I got a call to do a funeral for a family when their mother died. They had asked me to do their father's funeral during my first few months here though they had no direct connection to the church. Mom and Dad had been married at the church parsonage, but I'm not sure they had ever really attended. The funny thing was, as I reviewed the service I did for Dad, I remember vividly meeting with this family and the conversation that ensued. Since the family does not have a lot of resources, the stipend was on the low side. Not complaining, just noting. It was a joy to catch up with this family.
I did write about the Sunday that I was at Fall Fest trying to sell hats. It was a complete disaster. I spent $110 on the space. Plus I bought two heads for display. Plus the money spent on the special yarns to supplement the boxes of yarn I still had from the yard sales in Bradford County. One hat was all I sold over the two days. $20 of which $5 I gave to Jack to buy chili. I still have totes full of hats. It was suggested that I contact Binghamton General as they may have a program where all new borns go home with a hat and they may be interested in buying the hats. I have not made that phone call as of yet.
The Fall Fest was supposed to be a one time only venture. However, since it was such a disaster, I decided that I would try again with a local bazaar. I am sending off my $12 table fee and praying that I manage to sell some hats at the VFW venue. I'm toying with having a single $15 price on all the hats rather than $15 on the medium and $20 for the large. Nothing lead me to believe my pricing was off at the ski resort, but maybe the thought of getting a discount will spur a purchase.
I did do some transcribing during August. I am still in the probationary stage and may not actually get hired by the company. It seems there are some reviewers who enjoy giving low scores. One day I transcribed two very similar videos from the same company for the same product. One review gave me a 2 while the other reviewer gave me a 5. How do you fight that?
This week, I returned to my former municipality to continue as Judge of Elections. It's a very long day, but the pay is actually better than my substitute teaching. I also attended the training and received the remuneration for that time also.
My main supplemental income comes from the substitute teaching. I am only substituting in the local school district. I have signed up for some of the music rooms. I did not enjoy them as I mostly wrangled the kids for the entire class period with no attempt at teaching. The high school isn't really much better. I end up sitting watching the kids not doing the worksheet that is provided for the day. Elementary is another matter altogether. I have stuck with the fourth and fifth grade classes and actually get to teach. They do block teaching so I teach the same lesson four times each day with two shorter special classes. I also do lunch or recess duty on elementary days. I will continue to target the elementary classes, but will take jobs in the high school on weeks that I need another day. I have asked to not be 'on call' though I did get a call to help on a day that four high school teachers were not filled.
As my reserve dwindles, I just praise God for allowing me to have a bank to fall back on during this sabbatical. Also, we submitted the paperwork for the lunch program at school and because of my level of income were able to get free lunches at school. The paperwork was also cross filed with the county and through that we are receiving food stamps and insurance. Since we had planned to be without insurance this year, a gamble that may or may not have worked out, it was another God thing that we rejoiced over. We are also supplementing with food distribution at the school. The local food bank has been getting regular donations of produce. I never seem to pick up fruits and veggies so its a nice surprise each month to see what is sent up for the families. Just like each week experiencing a new and different worship experience, this foray into the democratic side of life is a growing experience that I expect to benefit from in my next pastorate.
If any other sources of income present themselves, I will post about them.
Communion with Colleagues
I had regretted preaching on the first Sunday in October. I do not have sacramental authority during my sabbatical, so there was no communion on World Communion Sunday. I need the connection that comes from communion. As John Wesley said (paraphrased), commune as often as possible and he is said to go no longer than three days between attendances.
However, the first Sunday of November I found myself at a family breakfast dinner for my mother. We hadn't been together since the wedding in August and July 4th prior to that.
As it turns out, God is good. Monday I had decided to attend the clergy fellowship even though the topic was Advent and I would not be preparing to lead a church through Advent this season. We experienced a complete worship service, including communion as we gathered. The host pastor lead us through the service the church had experienced the day previous.
She told us she had adapted her message to address a clergy gathering rather than a congregation. The message contained a lot of details and a lot of asides "as you may know" "as you may remember" "I'm sure you've heard...".
It felt good to receive communion. It is always a wonderful time when I can experience the fellowship of other pastors. It has been few and far between in this Conference. I am hoping that the new DS continues to make clergy fellowship a priority and thus allow us to worship rather than always lead.
However, the first Sunday of November I found myself at a family breakfast dinner for my mother. We hadn't been together since the wedding in August and July 4th prior to that.
As it turns out, God is good. Monday I had decided to attend the clergy fellowship even though the topic was Advent and I would not be preparing to lead a church through Advent this season. We experienced a complete worship service, including communion as we gathered. The host pastor lead us through the service the church had experienced the day previous.
She told us she had adapted her message to address a clergy gathering rather than a congregation. The message contained a lot of details and a lot of asides "as you may know" "as you may remember" "I'm sure you've heard...".
It felt good to receive communion. It is always a wonderful time when I can experience the fellowship of other pastors. It has been few and far between in this Conference. I am hoping that the new DS continues to make clergy fellowship a priority and thus allow us to worship rather than always lead.
Monday, November 4, 2019
Music and Prayer
This Sunday was another foray into the world of my ministerial friends. This week was at the Universalist/Unitarian Church. I have been assured the church is more Christian than not, that the decision to combine was made years ago.
The first thing I noticed was the amount of music used during the service. It was all familiar. In fact, several pastors ago had acquired the Methodist Hymnal from a church that was closing! The other standout was the amount of prayer. Not necessarily rote prayer, but frequent prayer to God in thanksgiving and for guidance.
The message itself was more researched with many, many quotes and no personal antidotes. The pastor's deliver was a little cadenced with odd breaks in the middle of sentences and even phrases, but wasn't really hard to follow or to understand.
Overall, it was a very worshipful experience.
The first thing I noticed was the amount of music used during the service. It was all familiar. In fact, several pastors ago had acquired the Methodist Hymnal from a church that was closing! The other standout was the amount of prayer. Not necessarily rote prayer, but frequent prayer to God in thanksgiving and for guidance.
The message itself was more researched with many, many quotes and no personal antidotes. The pastor's deliver was a little cadenced with odd breaks in the middle of sentences and even phrases, but wasn't really hard to follow or to understand.
Overall, it was a very worshipful experience.
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