President's Message
Dear friends,
Kermit the Frog once sang...
It's not easy being green
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over 'Cause you're not standing out
Like flashy sparkles in the water or stars in the sky
One of the biggest complaints I hear from rostered ministers and lay leaders alike is about this season of green – this Ordinary season that seems to drag on all summer. It’s not easy when it seems so ordinary. One of the joys of serving a rural congregation is watching green things grow. Outside of my office window is a field. As I work, I am aware of the farmer at work. Tilling the soil as the dust cloud moves across the road. Planting in between the spring rains. Tending the fields as the crop begins to grow. Then waiting. And waiting. That ordinary time seems to lasts forever as questions filter through the farmer’s thoughts:
Did I plant too early? Or, did I plant too late?
Did I get the right seed?
Are we going to get sufficient rain?
Is it going to rain too much? Will the rain bring hail that destroys the crops?
Maybe I should have bought hail insurance?
Will we get an early freeze?
If we get a lot of rain in the fall, will the corn and beans dry?”
Yet, Paul reminds us: “We walk by faith, not by sight.” (1 Corinthians 5:7)
This past 18 months has been the most difficult season of Confirmation in all of my ministry. Since I started this call in October 2019, we waited until January to begin Confirmation Class. In March, we moved to Zoom. Then we moved back to in-person, but in the gym where we could spread out and keep the 6 feet distancing. It was frustrating at best. Ineffective at worst. At least that is what I thought.