Dear Friends,
The time has come to say thank you and good bye…for now. Thank you for inviting me to be your interim pastor for the past year. Twelve months ago I began the interim during the height of wave two of Covid-19 and today we ride together the fourth wave. Wave one and three were in there somewhere. I’m sure we all have had enough surfing these waves.
What will it be like to get back to normal, pre-Covid. Some talk about a “new normal”, that we won’t be returning to the way life was before this world wide pandemic erupted. If that is true, what would a “new normal” look like for you? What will it look like for the church?
I suppose I should ask myself that question: What will life look like in full retirement? After I retired from full time ministry, completing my 5 years as the Director for Evangelical Mission in 2016, I didn’t fully retired. I did as my friend, Pastor Gene Perry once told me, “taking one more step into retirement.” I served two congregations with small, part time duties from 2017-2020 before being called as your interim pastor. My euphemism for this retirement plan was “keeping my oars” in the water.
I sense that I will continue to “keep my oars” in the water for sometime, if for no other reason, to keep the boat moving while I am flyfishing! Seriously though, I am always open to where God might lead me. I do look forward to serving again as a fly-tying instructor for Healing Water, a national program to disabled veterans. As long as I am able, I hope to be a supply pastor for pastors who need a vacation or sabbatical break. Not least, I look forward to some role here at Bethlehem as a volunteer, but that will be determined later.
I say good bye…for now because it is appropriate for our new pastor to have some time to begin his role as your “called” pastor without the former pastor “looking over his shoulder” . Pastor Brian will be introducing himself to you, establishing a pastoral relationship with each and everyone of you. A time of bonding! A time to love and give love. A time to dream together as God calls us into God’s mission.
As your new pastor he will be the one you will call for all those special times in the life of a congregation: baptisms, confirmations, weddings and yes, funerals. These are the special times when a pastoral shepherd bonds with his or her flock.
My role as the shepherd of this congregation ends on August 29. Because I asked permission from our bishop to remain a member after serving as interim (not allowed when the interim is not a member) Chris and I will maintain our membership. However, we do plan to be absent from worship at Bethlehem until after New Years. Actually we look forward to worshiping in many congregations and not all of them will be Lutheran. We did this the last time I retired from congregational leadership and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
My last time to lead worship will be this Sunday, August 22. The following week I will use one of my vacation weeks. Sharon Odden, a diaconal lay minister who has been assisting me during the past two months, will grace us with her presence on August 29th. Pastor Brian will start on Monday, August 30th.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
Peace,
Pastor John
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Announcements
The Congregation Council met on Sunday, August 15. Due to the rapid growth of the Delta variant of Covid-19 across our country, and its alarming characteristics, the council agreed that all worshippers will be asked to wear a mask before, during and after worship.
The council also decided that this would not be a good time to hold fellowship activities after worship. They will evaluate both of these decisions at every council meeting.
Therefore the fellowship part of the this Sunday event for Pastor John will not take place in the Fellowship hall (no coffee and cookies) but instead take place in the sanctuary right after service. Pastor John requested this change.
Pastor John asked the council to do research on this new variant and bring their findings to the meeting. This is what they discovered: The evidence on the Delta variant indicates that it is twice as contagious as the original Covid-19 virus, that younger adults and children are more vulnerable than the original virus, and it is more deadly. We discovered that vaccinated people can carry the virus and infect others. Finally that vaccinated people can be infected by the variant, but their symptoms are almost always significantly milder.
Creating a Culture of Generosity
Seven members attended the “Creating a Culture of Generosity” workshop this past Saturday. Four others were unable to attend the “live” presentation but will watch the recording later. The presentation was well received by all, encouraging us to live a generous life. Pastor Brian will lead the remaining five presentations. If you would like to view the recorded programs, we can send you the link to download onto your computer.
Special Appeal
The Special Appeal to support the next chapter of our ministry is about $11,000 with a goal of $20,000 by New Years. You may give a one-time gift or monthly gifts, whatever works best for you. Thank you all for your generous support of Bethlehem’s ministry.
