Interesting Answers to Things I've Wondered About

Wow! We had a session retreat today. Our mission statement is to share our love of God with young people (or something like that). So an elder repeated our mission statment in a comment. Then about two minutes later, she said that a new couple with their two children made her afraid. I asked for clarification and she said that she was afraid that they would need something we couldn't give them. Then another member echoed the same sentiment. If we have new families attending, then they might need things we can't give them. Their thinking is entirely on what the new folks might demand from them instead of how they can share God's love with those folks. Amazing. I just never would have thought of that. Their fear of change came through loud and clear in other ways, too. Now, I was an active church member for 15 years before I went to seminary. It just never occurred to me that the reaction I heard today was a reaction anyone could have. I understand being afraid of change because it is unknown, it is risky, it is well, different. I understand not wanting new members because it means maybe we might be asked to change. But being afraid of new members because they might be needy is a bit weird to me.

I spend Friday night at church with movie night and most of today at the retreat (which actually was quite good, all in all). I was thinking that tomorrow was Monday. It's not. It's Sunday. I have to get up and preach. By Tuesday, I will have worked 12 straight days. I was planning to take Monday off (since I didn't get Friday), but I have to meet with someone and there is not other day in the time frame we need to meet. And my sinuses are killing me.

I am struggling with whether I stay with them until they die (we can stretch it out). They seem to want to stretch it out. I will lose our clerk this year sometime (whenever his house sells) and lose our treasurer in about three years. (Yes, I will lose them; it's a loss for me.) That leaves me with one solid member that I can talk to who understands me and what I see as "church". My guess is she will probably leave soon after those other two.

Movie night was fun, though. We watched the Bucket List. It was probably much less depressing to watch it with a whole group (including five teens) than by myself. Our music director's surgery was postponed another week. I did tell her that you don't throw up like Nicholson did because of chemo (at least not the kind they do for ovarian cancer). If you take your nausea meds. (I forgot once and that's all it took.)

Thanks for listening. I think I'm going to go cry right now.