Country Living...observations after 10 months

I know it's been forever...I honestly think that the act of writing sermons each week has been fulfilling my need to write and express myself, so I don't feel the need to blog as often.  But it has been a season of new adventures and discoveries.  I still consider myself a "city girl" and still think that life in small town Indiana is strange.  However, I continue to have new experiences that have opened myself up to the fun and interesting parts of living in small town IN.

The question that keeps coming to my mind as I've survived my first year as a small town, small church pastor is this:  "Is there life in Morgantown?"  The answer is yes, for the most part.

The church I serve is alive and maintaining...not necessarily growing, but the people that are part of the congregation have a lot going on and a lot of passion for the church.

The town itself is a lot of times quiet, but sometimes full of life, such as the 100th Memorial Day parade last Sunday where I kept wondering where all of those people had been hiding all this time!  The same thing happened on Halloween when we hosted "Trunk or Treat" and had to to go the store at least twice to get more candy because of how many kids were there!

Or the Head Start families who celebrated "graduation" at the church last week- or the scouting ministries that are alive and well (and sometimes a frustration!) at the church.

But the best thing I have found as a small church pastor is the gift of relationship building.  Over the 10 months I've been here, I have had many meaningful conversations, a lot of discoveries about people, families, and traditions, I've had lots of laughter, pastoral visits, and have eaten way too much.  I have experienced new people, places, and things.  I have walked in a parade for the first time.  I roasted my first hot dog over a fire, and I've been on the strangest country roads you can imagine.  We went hay bale jumping.  We take Kole to a vet who keeps camels, zebras, and mini-cows on his land.  We drive 20-25 minutes to the grocery store, mall, frozen yogurt (lots of it!) and movie theater, but we are also 25 minutes from the outlet malls and Brown County, and an hour from downtown Indy!  Corey and I hit a deer back in April which did $6,000 in damage to our car :(  (Thankful for insurance!).  When this happened, it was 6:30 in the morning and Corey was taking me to the airport to catch a flight for a conference.  I called a church member who lovingly came to take me so I wouldn't miss my plane.  When we shared this news of hitting a deer, we were told, "Welcome to the club!"

At church we are slowly navigating through taking a big financial hit with the Head Start program being cut from the church.  We are in the process of seeking a new treasurer.  We are setting goals, having honest conversations, and thinking about what we can do to continue to maintain ourselves financially and as a church community in general.  We have many challenges since it is small town that is not growing or bringing in young people, but I am emphasizing the importance of working with the people around us- invite them to church, extend the welcome and invitation, etc.  I have learned more than I ever cared to about boy scouts and scouting.  I have learned about my gifts for administration, and to my surprise, my ability to understand and comprehend the church budget and what the numbers all mean.  It's all been an adventure.  I am so thankful for Corey's job, the wonderful and supportive people that we have met, and for the experiences I have had so far- the good and the not so good.  Through it all, I have grown.  We have grown.   We are thankful.