Pastors’ Ponderings
Kimberly P Chastain, Pastor
Harvest Home
The month of November always brings three things: the feast of All Saints, when we remember the “great cloud of witnesses” who have shaped our lives and our history; Veterans Day, originally named Armistice Day, when we remember the catastrophic wars of the 20th century that have shaped world politics ever since; and the great American holiday we call Thanksgiving.
I loved Thanksgiving when I was a child. My first and only worthwhile painting, a watercolor I made in 2nd grade, was of the Mayflower. My parents framed it and it hung in their house until it was so faded as to be unrecognizable. Because my father was a serving officer in the Army until I was sixteen, it was not a gathering of generations for us, but a chance to go to the Officer’s Club for a fancy and sumptuous family feast. Before the big meal, though, there was a service of Thanksgiving in the chapel wherever we were posted. And every year, we sang the old hymn, “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” with its refrain, “raise the glorious harvest home”. The hymn has gone out of fashion over the years, with its archaic words, but one line continues to repeat itself in my heart each year:
All are safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
Those words feel especially poignant this year, as we try to find our feet in the aftermath of a global pandemic, in the midst of a series of regional wars that threaten to become global, and climate-change related storms that bring floods, fire, and drought in unexpected ways. They carry me back to the time when the story of the Pilgrims celebrating their own survival was untainted by the knowledge of colonialism and genocide. I loved it when community and sharing in times of hardship was all there was to the story. And when I was a child, I didn’t really understand the part about hardship and suffering — the early colonizers faced disease, starvation, and great losses before they came together to celebrate. I have been spared so many of these great catastrophes, yet I have experienced the same sense that God has brought me safely through.
These days, I find myself praying the prayer that orthodox Jews repeat eight times every day, called the Shehecheyanu:
Blessed are you, Eternal One, our God, Ruler of the Universe,
who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this moment.
When it feels like so many things are acting to pull our world apart, and so many negative stories fill our world and make it harder to feel thankful, it is good to remember that our times are in God’s hands, and that we are gathered in God’s love. No one is forgotten, no one is alone, because the Creator of all worlds is also as close as our breath.
There’s a story I’ve told so many times I can no longer remember when or where it happened, of a little girl dancing in her first dance recital (I wore pink bunny pajamas and had a headband with pink ears affixed) who fell down in the middle of her part. When her mom came over, prepared to comfort the child in disaster, she was surprised to see her daughter glowing in triumph, saying, “Did you see, Mommy? I got up!”
Whether you are traveling in this holiday season, or staying home, worrying about loved ones far away or close at hand, whether you are rejoicing in prosperity or finding meaning in the struggle, take the time to remember the One who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this moment. Remember to be grateful for God’s glorious harvest, that love that goes with us and finally brings us home.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Kimberly
Becky Kindig, Associate Pastor
Greetings friends!
This month I get to celebrate my 10-year anniversary of being ordained! November 17th, 2013, I stood before colleagues in ministry, friends, family, and God and promised (among other things) to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love. Every time we have an ordination of elders here at UPC, and we read those promises again, I think back to when I made those same ones. I really like that in the PC(USA), all the leaders make the same promises. No one is above the other, we just all have different ways we serve.
I also am celebrating that I get to celebrate this 10 year “ordiversary” with the congregation that called me. Not many pastors starting out get to say that they are still with the church that called them for ordination 10 years later. All of my friends from seminary are on their 2nd or 3rd call. And the average call in the PC(USA) is 5–7 years. So I thank God that my gifts and skills are still a match with what God is calling this congregation to do and be here in our corner of the world. I have learned so much and have been honored to share so much in ministry with you. Thank you for all the ways we have worked together, supported each other, and had fun together these last 10 years!
This month we get to look at how we at UPC can serve God here in Binghamton for the next 10 years. It is good to take some dedicated time every once in a while to pray, to evaluate, and to plan. The Session has invited Rev. Dr. Rose Niles from the Presbyterian Foundation to come and walk us through some strategic planning in a program called Project Regeneration. While we can never really anticipate what God has in store for us, we can make plans for how we are equipping members and taking stock of our resources so we will be ready when God calls us to our next ministry. We need to evaluate if we are caring for each other, being open to being cared for, listening to the needs of those in our community who are on the margins, and making sure we are nurturing our faith and our imagination.
It’s always a great idea to have someone from outside an organization to look at it with fresh eyes and give their perspective as a newcomer. But Rev. Niles also has years of experience both with serving congregations as a pastor, but also at the denominational level helping all kinds of churches figure out how to re-energize for what is next. I hope that you will join us in this time of prayer and exploration with curiosity and excitement. Join us after worship on November 12 to learn more!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Becky