As I write these words I have
officially been your new Transitional Pastor for about two and a half
weeks. And already it feels very good to be with you. So many of you
have warmly and graciously welcomed me. More than a few of you have
helped me get settled, from those who helped me move things into my
new office, to those who helped unload the truck at the house, to
recommendations for good restaurants, parks and area attractions.
Thank you for your kindness, and your understanding patience as I
work on connecting names and faces.
I love the positive and
exciting energy that I am finding here at First Congregational UCC. I
am experiencing you to be a congregation filled with dedicated,
committed, hard-working people who take seriously the ongoing work of
being the church. So many of you are involved in the life of the
church in such a wide variety of ways. It seems like there is always
some group meeting about something important. And I do not have
adequate words to express how much I appreciate the energy I
experience on Sunday mornings as you gather for worship. On top of
everything else it is very apparent that you enjoy being together.
And so our time together has
begun. By definition it will be a limited time (probably somewhere in
the neighborhood of eighteen months to two years). But a limited time
does not have to be meaningless, unimportant or simply something to
endure and get through. I anticipate that in the coming days, weeks
and months ahead we will laugh and cry, work and play, worship and
serve together. My intention is to be deeply, fully, richly present
and connected with you for as long as I have the privilege to be
here. My job is to help you gain a clearer sense of who you are and
where God might be calling you to go in ministry as you look ahead to
the call of your next “settled pastor.” It is also my job to be
your pastor in this present moment. So, if you are sick or troubled,
I want to walk that path with you. If you are filled with joy and an
urge to celebrate, I want to walk that path with you. Just let me
know and I’ll do my best to be there for you and with you.
Here at the beginning of our
time together I really want to find ways to connect with as many of
you as possible. And you can help with that process. Stop by my
office and say hi. Call me on the phone. Drop me an email note. Invite me out to lunch. Tell me about one of
your favorite places in the area to visit. Connecting won’t happen
overnight, but it will happen.
Finally, here are a couple of
details:
1) Several of you have asked
how I prefer to be addressed. Roger has always worked well for me.
I’m also quite comfortable with Pastor Roger, if that works better
for you. Whenever anyone calls me Rev. Lynn I find myself looking
around for my dad (which is not a bad thing – it just has never
seemed to fit me very well), so let’s leave that one on the shelf.
2) My intention is to take
Fridays and Saturdays as my regular days off, so if you want to stop
by and see me, or if you need to call me regarding normal church
business, please try to do so Monday through Thursday. That having
been said, feel free to call me any time if there is an emergency.
I look forward to exploring
what it means to be God’s Church together in this time and this
place.
– Roger Lynn
(keeping my feet firmly
planted in the flow)
No comments:
Post a Comment