My New Church

I have amazing news. Last week I was called to be the Parish Minister of a church about 30 miles from my home. They are celebrating their 200th anniversary this year, and own two historic buildings. Most importantly, they are a really cool group of people. There are less than 50 souls all together, which will be an exciting challenge for me, since I have never served a "Family Size" congregation. There are about a dozen children who participate, and it buoyed my spirit to see how well they were integrated and embraced by the whole congregation. I had crossed my fingers that I might find a small congregation near Ithaca to serve once we decided this would be our new home, and my wish has come true. More, they are active and caring and creative and even have a drum circle!

The settlement begins August 1, but I am already ordering books on small church ministry. The commute is not ideal, and I regret the enlarged carbon footprint, but the drive is amazingly beautiful, and the little winding 2 lane route seems more restful than rush hour on the 101 or the 880 in California. (Auto Mall Parkway). In many ways this church is a foil to the last one I served. It will be a half time position in a part of the world with a slower pace of life. I will be the only paid staff of the church, so the office is empty most of the week. They kindly agreed to install a broadband link to the office so I could check e-mail while in the office; previously the church had no e-mail. (After the 100 e-mails a day I am used to in church life, this may be the biggest change of all). It is also an isolated liberal enclave in a conservative county. To quote the good folks of Monty Python's Flying Circus "Now for something completely Different."