We Have A Pastor!

Don't miss this, it's exciting. We have a pastor!!! Yes, we do. I'm excited (can you tell?). His name is William (he goes by Willy) Burns. His wife is Angel (she is!). They have two preschool children, Joshua and Nicholas. He is presently serving as the youth pastor in a church in northeast Washington. They used to live in Redmond, OR. They are excited about coming here and taking on the role of senior pastor. There will probably be a transition period as he learns about ministering to people of all ages but he has a lot of potential -- I should say, they have a lot of potential because his wife is right in there along side him. Nick decided to be a little camera shy when we took this picture. They were here this past weekend, he preached, and they meet with some of the congregation for Q&A. Today (Tuesday) they met with the Conference board that interviews candidates and appoints pastors. I learned just a few minutes ago that he has been officially appointed here. Whoopee!

As it stand now, I will preach the first 3 Sundays of June, my last Sunday will be June 17, Ellis will preach for 3 Sundays, then Willy will arrive by July 15. That is the Sunday I had planned to be here with the family so I will do something to "turn over" the church to him. A kind of symbolic thing, like handing the gavel to the new committee chairman. Any ideas on what to do?

Just for the record, today is a beautiful day, temp in the 70s, not much wind. Ellis, Kathy, Joyce and I went down to view the dead whale this morning. It washed up on shore down by Seal Rock a few days ago. It is big... and smelly! A rather awesome sight. We are moving ahead with updating the parsonage -- but slowly. I guess some of these things take more time than I would like.

Well, that's my world -- and a bright, shiny one it is. What in yours?

Sailing West

Once upon a time there were two sailing ships. The people on board one ship thought the world was flat. They were afraid to sail far out to sea for fear of falling off the edge of the earth. So they sailed up and down the coast, visiting a few ports, raising and lowering their sails, going out a few miles only to turn back when the sight of land drew dim. They sang little songs like "Ho, Ho, Ho," said "Arggggggg" to each other, and pretended to be tough and brave. The people on the other ship had always been taught the world was flat but that didn't stop them from going far out to sea. Sometimes they had doubts, sometimes they were even afraid. But they continued on. Because they didn't limit themselves to the shoreline, they saw new sights, visited exciting new ports, discovered exotic lands, and met lots of interesting people. They sailed by the motto, "Ships were not designed to stay in the harbor."

There are people who live like the first ship. There are people -- thankfully -- who live like the second ship. And a church is really just a ship full of people. How far into uncharted water will be venture? How brave will we be? What will we accomplish because we didn't stay where it is safe? When Christopher Columbus was sailing the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria from the old world to the new world for the first time he didn't know what to expect. Sometimes the crew was a little surly; Columbus had to keep encouraging them. They experienced all the fears, problems, and doubts that could be imagined. Remember, ol' Chris had never been there either. But his confidence and his progress was demonstrated in his nightly log entry: "today we sailed west."

Well, today we sailed west. I'm not sure how much progress we made. Ellis preached a great message; some people responded. We sang, we prayed, we worshiped. It was good. It was progress. Even if we only had slightly more than half the attendance we had last Sunday. So we sailed west. Maybe not very far; maybe not very fast; but definitely west.

The next pastor will have the privilege of discovering the exotic new places the church can go. He will help the church meet lots of interesting new people. He will keep the ship sailing in the right direction. And... he will be here next Sunday to preach and be interviewed by the Leadership Team. Now I have to confess, this is not a done deal but we are hoping (praying!) "he is the one." If the people like him, if the Conference likes him, if he likes us, and if God wills, it will happen.

Last week we had hot weather in Grants Pass. Today it is raining and 58 degrees in Newport. It is supposed to be nice weather all week and then rain for Memorial Day weekend. Sounds like Oregon doesn't it?

Well that's my world. What's in yours?

Happy Mom's Day

This was an awesome week. No real big reason. Just a few rather large reasons. The weather was nice, a little cool but mostly sunny. Then on Friday we had company -- Ron and Joan. I was a candle lighter in their wedding 50 years ago in Eugene (I was a very young candle lighter!). Since this is their Golden Anniversary they are trying to touch base with those who were part of their special day so many years ago. They live in Washington, in the Olympia area. Joan's mom was my Sunday school teacher and we have a lot of fond memories of those days. So it was a fun evening of eating out and ambling down memory lane. On Saturday Ginger came to spend time with her mom (and maybe me). She stayed for church Sunday and then helped us load the pickup for a trip to Grants Pass. We had a nice mom's day lunch on Saturday at a quaint little restaurant near the bay in Newport and then another one at McDonald's on Sunday. It was really good to have her visit for a little while.

The worship service was fun on Sunday. Our regular pianist was visiting her kids so we borrowed a lady who used to attend the church. She and her husband were the worship leaders "back then." In addition, he taught a Bible study and they were loved by everyone. Unfortunately he had a stoke and died last fall (before we got there so we didn't know him). So she came to be our pianist and the folks who knew them as worship leaders surprised her with a nicely worded plaque and a tree in honor of her husband. Then after church we planted the tree. She plays the piano beauoooooootifully. It was indeed a spirited worship time!

And now we are in Grants Pass soaking up some heat -- almost too much heat. It was 87 today. I noticed in the paper it was 57 in Newport. But sunny! Joyce is working at the day care this week -- about 3 or 4 hours each afternoon. As usual there is plenty to do and it seems most of it is "catchup" from what has been neglected.

I do not have to preach this coming Sunday because a man in our church is taking care of that. It makes this week a lot easier for me. Then the following Sunday the man who is the potential next pastor will be preaching. Pray that works out well.

Oh, I need to clarify something from the last blog. I didn't mean to imply that we won first place in the parade. We won the Judge's Trophy and on top it says "1st place" -- I guess that means first in the judge's estimation. There was also a Queen's Trophy and a couple others. And.... guess what? The newspaper listed all the trophy winners. For the Judge's Trophy they listed: "Community Church." So much for name familiarity, huh?

Well, that's my world. What's in yours?

God's Blessings Are Truely Great

Well, this was float and parade weekend. Let me give you the long story. During the week we (meaning Joyce and I and various church people -- we even wrangled my nephew and his wife into helping for a few hours) spent considerable time getting signs ready for the float. Friday morning the trailer was delivered to us. It was a flat equipment trailer owned by a neighbor down the street. Six of us put in about 8 hours Friday putting on signs, flowers, ferns, and skirting. We used plastic table cloths and hula skirts from the dollar store because they said it always rains on the Loyalty Days Parade, i.e. no paper. Saturday morning it was up early and down to the staging area where we finished some last minute things that we weren't sure would make the 2 miles trip down the highway. By 10:00 we were ready for the judging and then it was wait, wait, wait until our turn in the parade. There were 96 entries and we were number 90! The parade started at noon but we started at 1:00.

I need to describe the float. We had two 5 foot by 5 foot pictures; one of the old church (circa 1942) and one of the present church. Friend Richard in Grants Pass ran these thru his computer and put the pieces together to make the large pictures. These were mounted back-to-back on plywood and divided the trailer into "then" and "now." This coincided with the parade theme "Reflections of 125 Years" because Newport was incorporated in 1882. Our theme was "Lighting the Way Since 1923." That's when the Free Methodist Church started in the Newport area. On the old side we had 3 ladies dressed in period costume, old quilts, and some old chairs, etc. On the new side we had a lighthouse plus our guests of honor, Dick and Sherry Kammerzell. Dick was pastor here from 1976 to 1993 and was very involved in the community so lots of people along the parade route recognized him. We used my truck to pull the float and it was a real kick watching the people as they called out to him or his wife.

Everything went so smoothly and we all had loads of fun working together -- even though it was a lot of work!! But here's the blessing part. As we entered the parade procession a lady ran out and handed Dick a trophy. I didn't see it but Joyce called out, "we won a trophy." I couldn't stand it so I stopped the truck and ran back to see what it was. It said -- are you ready for this -- "Judges Trophy - First Place." It stands about 2 feet high! God is good, isn't he? It sort of confirmed that every one's hard work was recognized.

Today in church, Dick and Sherry shared as I interviewed them. We had a reception for them afterward. Some of our regular people were gone but visitors came so we did well and two of the visitors would like more contact with the church.

So, now Joyce and I are worn out. I think we're too old for this!!! But God gives strength. It's fun following where he leads. Wonder what's next?





The now side












Dick and Sherry















The "then" side with Patty, Kathy, and Sally.

Happy May Day

Happy May Day. Trust you have had a good month of April but that May will be even better. We are busily engaged in getting a float ready for the Loyalty Days and Sea Fair Parade this coming Saturday. That means putting together pictures and banners and getting decorations ready. Friday will be the actual day of float building. Yesterday evening we put clear contact paper on two large pictures (old church and new church) so if it rains they won't get ruined. I'm told it usually rains for the Loyalty Days parade. Hope to have pictures to show you next week. Why are we doing this? We keep asking ourselves the same question! Actually, it is simply for name recognition -- to make the church name more familiar in the community.

Sunday we had a man and wife visit the church who may be the next pastor. Joyce and I spent Sunday afternoon talking with them. He has no experience being a senior pastor but he has been a youth pastor for 5 years. He has to begin someplace and he seems to have the passion and compassion needed for this kind of ministry. He is coming back later to be interviewed by our board and to preach. Stay tuned.

The church decided to borrow the money from the conference to repair the parsonage. This will put it in proper shape for the next pastor and his family. That work will begin as soon as possible -- next week if we can. This will be a positive step forward for the church.

Stay tuned for news about the float. It will be fun.