Pastors’ Ponderings
Kimberly P Chastain, Pastor
What Shall I Preach This Summer?
Every year about this time, I ask for suggestion for summer preaching. This year, I got some actual suggestions back! I haven’t closed the ballot box yet, but here are some of the suggestions I have received so far:
One of my favorite stories in the Bible and a great book that could go along with it...Jesus as A Shepherd...Psalm 23. The book is The Shepherd Trilogy by Phillip Keller, one of my very favorite books...as well as topics.
“Queering Jesus” — Who was the beloved disciple, and what about the night that Jesus spent teaching “the mystery of the kingdom of God” to a youth wearing only a linen cloth? I think these are interesting things for thought. I know they could be somewhat controversial to some. Would it matter to Jesus’s message if he was gay or trans in his earthly life?
certainty and authenticity in religion
Caring for Creation
I’d like to hear about the minor prophets or the Apocrypha.
“Why join the church?” Why join organized religion? At a time when people have many options for affiliation, many options for providing service to others, and many options for finding that which brings them meaning, what does the church offer beyond these? At a time when our tribal identities are formed more by our politics, educational levels, and cultures, why identify with a church? At a time when we are looking unblinkingly at the destructive forces of the church in the past (and present), such as sex scandals in the Catholic and Baptist Churches, such as wars fought in the name of religion, such as Sundays being the most segregated day of the week, why should we look past these transgressions and join the church?
What do you think? Let me know if you would “vote” for any of these topics or if there are others on your mind. But be warned… if it is clear that you know more about the topic than I do, I might ask you to preach!
Pastor Kimberly
Becky Kindig, Associate Pastor
Greetings friends!
Many of you know that I had surgery on March 7 to remove my thymus gland as a way to stop the progression of my Myasthenia Gravis. The surgery went well, and I am so glad that I listened to the surgeon about taking the whole 6 weeks off. It was a minimally invasive procedure through my side, but they had to collapse my lung to get to my thymus gland and my lung was more aggravated by that than I had anticipated. So thankfully, the surgeon knew best, and I just had to give it the time it needed to heal.
I wanted to say thank you to all of you for your thoughts, prayers, cards, gifts, snacks, and healing vibes you sent my way while I had surgery. I greatly appreciated all the space you gave me to recover and the love that you shared. You all are the best congregation ever!
The picture is me in my motorized recliner where I rested and recuperated with the quilt the Sewing Group made for me, adorned with cats. It’s so fun and beautiful! And behind me on the wall is one of the paintings from Linda Cook DeVona, who gave them to us in February to be given to people who needed something cheerful, and it definitely helped. Thank you for these gifts.
I also want to thank several people who covered my big church tasks while I was out. Marilynn Guinane and Pastor Kimberly took over creating the weekly Sunday school packets for all of Lent and Easter week. Morgan and Cindy Chadwick took over the Easter Egg hunt and gift bags. And Andy Chadwick took my place for handbells. Thanks also to Sally Hunt and Sara Lieberman who made sure that Scott got birthday cake since there was no way I could bake one 6 days post-surgery. Thank you!
I started back to work the week after Easter and have been easing my way back into things, being careful not to overdo it. While I did have surgery, this does not cure the Myasthenia Gravis, so I will always need to make sure I am not tiring out my muscles which are being attacked by this disease, and I must be careful not to get sick since I am on strong immune-suppressant medication.
That being said, I am so happy to be back doing the work God has called me to be doing. And it’s great seeing those of you who are at church and talking to others of you on the phone, and of course putting together the Sunday school packets that our Young At Heart receive in the mail. I missed you all and am thankful to be back.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Becky