I decided to start my ministry at Pickering Village United Church with three weeks of vacation - 21 days that end today. Tomorrow I head into the church office for the first time as Lead Minister (well, officially anyway, although I have visited a couple of times.) There have been moments when I wondered if this time off was a good idea. Every now and then I've found myself a bit anxious to get started, and it seems to have been a long time. But I think it was a good idea. I had been at Central Port Colborne for a long time, all things considered - closing in on 11 years, and I think I needed a break from a long term ministry before I could start somewhere else. So I've concentrated on moving in, helping set up the house and getting to know the community we're living in and the surrounding area just a little bit. And I went to church here in town. Only once, but it was a very different setting than I had been accustomed to obviously. And I have to get used to things being different.
I had become very comfortable at Central. Comfortable with the liturgy, comfortable with the traditions, comfortable with the people. Comfortable is nice. I knew what I could push for and how far I could push for it. When complaints emerged, I knew who I should really listen to (because they would be listened to) and who I could just allow to let off steam and then press forward. I knew what was worth fighting for in that context and what I should just allow to pass by. I was very comfortable. That's part of why I moved on. Comfort isn't necessarily a good thing in ministry - and it was important to have some time away from that comfortable environment so that I could embrace the opportunity to do something different (and therefore challenging) without feeling the need to force how I've been used to doing things on an unsuspecting congregation. So I've had to let go of my comfort zone a little bit.
Hymns. I have no idea what hymns Pickering Village knows. They use Voices United, so I'm guessing they know the standards. What their favourites are, though, I have no idea. And they use More Voices - a hymnbook I know only from limited usage at meetings of Niagara Presbytery. But when in Rome - so I've picked one hymn from More Voices for my first Sunday. It's called "Jesus Laughed Out Loud." I'm going to use it with the children. And there are some simple things about the liturgy that are different. Pickering Village has a Prayer of Approach and a Prayer of Confession, whereas I've combined them as a Prayer of Approach and Confession, which I've just called the Opening Prayer. And Pickering Village has the Lord's Prayer near the end of the service, whereas I've always had it near the beginning. When in Rome ... And I've usually just used one Scripture reading; Pickering Village uses two. Small things. No big deal. If I were sitting in the congregation I probably wouldn't even notice. Well, I would but I wouldn't care. Leading worship with a different format than I've used for years will be strange - but when in Rome ...
That's why the break has been good. I highly recommend it to others who change pastorates. Leading worship in one environment one Sunday and then in a completely different environment the next Sunday would be a bit jarring and I don't think it would be a service to the new congregation. It would feel odd; I'd feel like a visitor; a stranger. I did it when I moved from Sundridge to Port Colborne. I'd be standing in the pulpit thinking of them as something other than my people. It would be like being a guest preacher. There will probably still be a bit of that feeling, but I think this time away from the familiar and comfortable has served its purpose. I realized that a few days ago. I don't remember the context, but my wife made reference to "the church." She was referring to Central; my mind went immediately to Pickering Village. Appropriately so.
The break has been good. It's accomplished what I wanted it to accomplish. I'm thinking of myself as the minister of Pickering Village United Church. I'm anxious to start. Tomorrow I'll head to the church office - and enter MY office. I need to do a few things with it to make it feel like mine. The desk needs to be moved. I want to work facing the office door and not the window. And I have phone calls to make - about some baptisms and a wedding. Possibly even a funeral, although I won't find out about that until tomorrow morning. And there are people to get to know - and I have to learn who it's important to get to know. And I'll probably wander the building a few times over the next few weeks, just to familiarize myself with where everything is.
The time between churches has been good and it's filled me with enthusiasm for what I'm beginning tomorrow. I'm not leaving the past behind. The past is part of me. All that I've experienced and learned as minister of Central United Church, and of the Sundridge Pastoral Charge, and of the Green Bay South Pastoral Charge comes with me. All that I've experienced and learned as an intern at Central Avenue United Church and as a lay person at Victoria Park United Church and as a student at Emmanuel College and through my doctoral studies in Chicago comes with me. But it's in the past. Reality as of tomorrow is Pickering Village United Church. There's a lot more to learn. There's always a lot more to learn.
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