Oh friends...it has been a BUSY summer...hence the reason I have not blogged in awhile! Corey and I are officially unpacked and settled in here in Morgantown. Our parsonage is amazing! We have tons of space, a huge back yard and a view of a small lake from the back of our house. The colors here are amazing every night with the sunset- it's a beautiful setting. The downside is that we are 20-30 minutes away from anything really- grocery shopping, errands, Zumba, volleyball for Corey, good restaurants, shopping, etc. It could be worse, so it's not the end of the world- just a lifestyle change really.
I am enjoying the church life- everyone has been really nice and welcoming so far, and I've already learned a lot of names, attended several meetings, and I'm taking the time to get to know people and what their gifts are. I've learned how the flow of worship is, I've added some new things and introduced new songs, prayers, ideas, and I've loved preaching and leading worship each week, and preparing for that responsibility. Today I even taught a small Sunday school class, which was...interesting given the topic of "the rapture," which then led into a discussion of homosexuality in the church, which is a whole other story...
Corey is still looking for a job, which has caused us to still feel a little unsettled. Corey is a very patient person, but it is getting a little frustrating. We also talk about the fact that we miss having people our age around to hang out with- there are no young adults in Morgantown really, that we've met. We've gotten to see fellow clergy friends and friends in Indy now that we are a little closer, but we miss people. We went to Terre Haute the other night to see the dinner theater that I was in for the past 2 years and it was great to see people and the show, but I was a little sad because I miss it so much. So we still have some things to work out in order to feel like we are at home.
I am also getting used to the small town and small church life. It has been quite a change for me, especially since I've never lived in a small town. Everyone is related! Everyone knows each other's business! And most people were born and raised here...and never left....which is a strange concept to me! I do like that for the most part, I already know a lot of names and faces, where they live, and what their needs are, although I am still learning and will continue to learn. I like that the worship service is traditional, but there is a want and need for subtle changes that consist of a variety of music and media use- which is something I can work with easily. There is also a want for sermons to have a mixture of teaching moments, reflective moments, and that relate to situations and issues in our culture and world.
There is also a lot of diversity at this church. There are many professional people, farm people, teachers, social workers, a federal judge, and everyone in between. This means that the theology is all over the place, which is a good and bad thing! It means that I have a challenge to find a middle ground where I challenge, encourage, teach, and hope for people to find meaning in scripture and the issues that face us as people of the church and people of God.
A perfect example of this is that at church, we have 2 gay men who are partners- one is the song leader and has some leadership positions in the church, and the other is the music director and organist. I was asked today when I was teaching Sunday school if I thought that "they" should be up in the front leading worship, to which I answered, "Absolutely they should be!" This led into a discussion about how we interpret challenging scriptures that deal with homosexuality- i.e., I was trying to educate the class on context and the different meanings of homosexuality in biblical times vs. now, and this led into a discussion about "sin", etc. The good thing is that no one walked out of class, no one raise their voice, and it was overall a healthy discussion, but it still left me discouraged. The theme that kept coming up was "Well, I was raised to think this way, so it must be the way it is." Hmmm...hmmm...how do I even begin to deal with that kind of thinking? I'll admit that I am guilty of that way of thinking on certain issues as well. It's just proof that as human beings we are stubborn and set in our ways! But the point I kept driving home is that God's grace is sufficient for each of us. We all "sin," we all "fall short," but in the end, God is love, and love (no matter what form it takes!) is a gift from God. Sometimes though, with all that's going on in the world, I really just feel like I am banging my head against the wall and getting no where. Yet here I am, a pastor, called to lead the church in the best way that I possibly can. Some days I need more encouragement than others!
So my days have been spent worship planning, setting up the new website, visiting people, writing sermons, getting to know people, wandering around the church to get acquainted with the space, finding out what in the world there is to do around here, going to aerobics classes at church, eating A LOT, and discovering what it means to be the pastor of small town church filled with many different kinds of people from all walks of life. I do miss large church life- the busyness of the office during the week, the conversations and meetings with the senior pastor, the meetings, the constant flow of people, the 2 very different styles of worship on Sunday mornings. I do not miss the responsibility of the praise band- although I do miss singing in it. It's been nice to focus my time and energy elsewhere for the time being.
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