Pastoral Ponderings – December 2023

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” ~ Isaiah 40:28-31

 In the most barren of situations, God continues to create something new. Two years ago, First Christian did what every church tries to avoid having to do, and that is sell their precious building. Blood, sweat, and tears went into the planning and creating of that church building. It was beautiful, and so many wonderful and beautiful things happened within (and outside) those walls. Children were born, children, youth, and adults were baptized, people got married, loved ones were put to rest, Christmas programs, Easter programs, Christian Education, worship, fellowship, all of that created a loving, and God-fearing community.

But as it has a tendency to do, life changes. The choice was to leave that beloved building. Without a place to go, Faith UCC invited them to share space until the community could get their bearings straight again. The building was no longer First Christian, but the faithful community of believers still is.

And now, two years later, what once was, First Christian Church and Faith UCC—separate, and yet very much alike—are preparing to create something new: Faith First Community Church. And it is beautiful!!

It is beautiful because, as the leader of both churches right now, I am watching each community work diligently to become one. There is give and take on both sides. Sometimes, those are easy changes, and sometimes—thanks to our emotions—the changes are more difficult.

While we have many things done—a new name, a new constitution, a new way to govern the community, a budget for next year—we still have a long way to go, and many decisions yet to be made. But these decisions are the details, and they will get done, in time.

Safe church policies (for volunteers who will work with our children and youth), bequest policies, building use policies. Then there will be the decisions around what we keep for furniture from both churches, and what we don’t. And how will we go about marketing our new church? Then, down the road, how will we change the sanctuary to make it Faith First Community Church? (Like I said, some of them are a ways down the road!)

The paperwork has been turned into the lawyer to work on the incorporation of Faith First, and the plan is to have an incorporation date of January 1, 2024!! While we wait for that, the Merging Committee continues to move forward, working on coming up with our Core Values (what we believe our church values most), a mission statement, and a vision statement. Once they come up with a few ideas, we will schedule another congregational meeting to decide on those.

 

Thank you so much to our Merging Committee for all of your hard work and dedication to the new creation. As much as we would like to believe that creating is easy, it really isn’t—in fact, it is really difficult at times. It takes patience, and courage, and passion. So, thank you to Cheryl Leamer, Don Walton, Mark Christy, Glenn Perreault, Jill Pepper, Doug Cox, Amy

Dowell, Sharon Perreault, Jan Hannel, and Martha Watters—who isn’t on the committee, but has been HUGE in helping make this transition work! And thank you to all of you for your thoughts, prayers, ideas, and any other way you are helping.

I can’t wait to see where we are one year from now! In the meantime, if you have thoughts and ideas on any of these things, please find a committee member and talk to them!

May you all have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

Always Peace, 

Pastor Heidi

 

Pastoral Ponderings – November 2023

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the One of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” ~ James 1:17

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Sometimes I don’t think I say that enough to each of you. I have certainly gotten behind on sending out thank you cards. But even if you don’t get a handwritten note from me, please know that I am beyond grateful for everything each and every one of you does!

“But Pastor Heidi, I don’t do much for you to be that thankful to me.” To which I respond, “Bologna!” I have received words of encouragement, words of challenge, words of compassion from each of you. I have watched you care for one another through cards sent, hugs shared, and food offered. I have watched you shed tears, sit in silence, and clean the church so Brian and Arlene didn’t have to when Arlene’s mother, Lois, died.

These two churches are amazing, and I am so grateful to be your Shepherd! Thank you!

November 26 we will offer our pledge cards to be blessed during worship. For those from First Christian, I know this isn’t a tradition that you are used to, but I feel that it is especially important this year.

When you receive your pledge card and letter this year, it will be for the 2024 budget for the New Church we are creating together. When we make a pledge, we are promising—to the best of our ability—to give that money to the church however we feel we can over the course of the year. By writing that amount down, our finance committee (yet to be named—for now is Martha Watters and the Merging Committee!) will be able to assess whether or not we will need to make adjustments to the proposed budget.

Offering of our first fruits back to God (giving an offering or pledge) is something we are called to do. Many churches ask for a tithe—which is 10% of your annual income. I know for many, that can be really scary. And I pray you know that I am not asking you to give beyond your means. But this year, because we are going to be a New Church together, I would challenge you to move into a zone that might stretch your comfort.

For instance, if you didn’t pledge, you would make a pledge this year. If you gave 3% of your annual income, can you do 3.5%, or even 4%? If you were giving 6%, could you give 6.5%, or even 7%? If you didn’t give in percentages, and giving a flat amount, say $20 a month, could you try $25 a month? If you gave $1,000 a quarter, could you give $1,250 a quarter?

I understand that giving to the church can be difficult because we are afraid that we won’t have enough. But our God is a God of abundance, always providing what we need, when we need it (notice I didn’t say WANT!). All we have to do is trust that. Our faithful giving is one of the ways that we can thank and praise God for our abundant gifts.

Again, THANK YOU for all you do!

Always Peace,

       Pastor Heidi

 

Pastoral Ponderings – October 2023

“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.”  ~ Luke 8:39

Greetings,

I am still struggling to believe that 13 weeks have come and gone! I had a wonderful rest, but I am grateful to be back home!

There is so much I am still processing and would like to ask for your patience with me. Sometimes I don’t have words for your questions, because, frankly, I just don’t have the words yet. But they will come. So, if I have shared a story with you half a dozen times, I apologize. I continue to tell it because I have something to learn yet, and by telling it over and over, I will be able to glean that wisdom. In the meantime, you will probably hear a few stories way more times than you want!

As July turned into August, and I was home a few more days than I had been, I started to relax a little, and get nervous about coming back. Not nervous to be here, but nervous because much of my Sabbatical had turned out differently than expected, and things I told you I was planning to do didn’t get done. And at that point, I still didn’t have this big AHA moment about why I was on Sabbatical, and what I was learning.

So I worried about what you would say, and how you would feel if I didn’t come back with something grandiose.  Then, the week before I returned, two things happened.

  1. I read this scripture in the Gospel of Luke: “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” That’s it. That’s my job. To tell you what God did for me while I was away. And when I realized that, things started to open up, and I am processing my time—finally! Friends, there is no way that I can tell you everything that God did for me during this time apart on one page. I’m not even sure I know everything God did for me yet! But I do know this: I know that God was in each and every breath I took, and each place I went, and in each person I re-connected with. God never left my side.
  2. I read this quote: Life is about balance. This has resonated with me to the point that I had to put it on paper, and canvas, and ceramic!

So, I return to you, not with some big new idea, but instead, with many small reminders. Things like:

  1. God’s timing is always perfect.
  2. God’s creation is precious—no matter what part of the world you are in.
  3. God places angels in our midst when we need them most.
  4. God allows us the space to learn what we need, whether we want to learn it or not!
  5. God has placed joy in our hearts, and when we find that joy, there is NOTHING better than that!

I could go on and on but think I will wait. Balance. Life is about balance.

~ Always Peace,  Pastor Heidi

Pastoral Ponderings – May 2023

Dearest Beloved,

I want to thank you so very much for the time you are gifting me for my upcoming Sabbatical. It is my deepest prayer that you know how much I love you. I couldn’t have imagined the blessings that continue to be showered on me (and my family) because of you.

Starting June 5, I will not be the person you contact if you need something for the church. Jill Pepper will be that person for June and July, and then depending on what you need, there will be a few people to contact for the month of August. (We will have that in the next newsletter.) I will return to the office on September 5.

Before I leave, I want to touch on a couple of things. I know that there is a lot going on within the life of Faith UCC. Your pastor will be gone for 13 weeks; and we are still in conversation with First Christian to figure out how we can share ministry. Both of these things are beginning to create some very high emotions—fear, grief, and anger for sure, but also excitement and joy.

Change is scary. Period. Not knowing what comes next in life leaves us feeling vulnerable, and believe me, I don’t like that feeling any more than you do.

So, let’s start with the Sabbatical. Please know that I am not leaving you for 13 weeks on your own. I am sure there is something I will forget to plan for, but I hope that most of whatever might come up will have a plan, or a person to contact. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE ALONE! You all still have one another! The idea for this time is for me to find rest and to return to you renewed and filled with new passion and fire. But this time is also for you—so that you can dive into the life of this wonderful church, and find your renewed passion and fire. Then, when we come back together, we can forge a new future with God’s love and light leading our way.

As for sharing ministry. Again, I refer to the above paragraph “Change is scary.” But change is inevitable, and if we allow ourselves to be open and dream, change can be amazing! I really don’t have any idea what “change” is going to look like for us, but there will be something. There always is! This is the time for us to explore new things, dream big dreams, and PRAY—asking that God guide us on this journey, not for our will, but for God’s will to be done.

I need to ask you a favor: please don’t stop talking to me about these events in our lives. I know we might not agree on everything, nor should we—that is how we hold one another accountable, and allow for balance. If we shut down and stop talking to each other, the change that will happen will not be healthy. Honest, open, and transparent communication with one another is the only way we can move forward toward God’s will. Dealing with emotion is really hard, so in this time and space, I pray we will offer one another grace, and much patience.

Friends, we are walking this journey together, and I wouldn’t want to walk with anyone other than all of you. I love you so much.

~ Always Peace,  Pastor Heidi

 

Pastoral Ponderings – April 2023

 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). ~ John 20:16

 Hello Friends!

Here today! Gone tomorrow! The snow we just got, that is. Wasn’t it BEAUTIFUL??? Of course, our pine tree, like many others around town that I have seen, didn’t like it as well as I did. I hope everyone was careful if they had to shovel! That was some heavy stuff!

Unfortunately, I was not able to shovel, as I am working on a back/leg issue. I want to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers, and your patience as I work to heal. I have learned a few things: I am a MUCH better care giver than care receiver; I have reached the age that it will take me longer to heal than I would like, so I am better understanding some of the frustration that many of you have felt in your lives; and I have the most loving and giving husband and son! They have taken such good care of me, and sacrificed so much so they could care for me, putting my needs before their school and work, and other activities. THANK YOU DAVID AND KARSTEN!

Now, that being said, I want to let you know that we will NOT be having an online worship service on Good Friday, as I was only able to work on so much while I was laid up.

HOWEVER, I want to invite you to our Maundy Thursday supper/worship on Thursday, April 6 in the Fellowship Hall at 6:00 p.m. We will enjoy our meal together, as we hear the final stages of Jesus life through prayer and scripture, and share a piece of ourselves with one another throughout the evening. Whether you have joined us before now or not, I pray you are able to be there on this special night.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Easter schedule on page 3. Have a most blessed week!

~ Always Peace,   Pastor Heidi

 

Pastoral Ponderings – March 2023

“Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work of creating that had been done..”  ~ Genesis 2:3

Shalom,

There is so much happening here at Faith UCC, and all of it is exciting!

First, our conversations with First Christian are going well. At times it feels like we are ready for the next step, and then there are other times that it feels very overwhelming. Bringing two churches together to be one is hard work, but so exciting. If you are unable to make it to our Q and A sessions following worship (our next one is Sunday, February 26), please feel free to ask anyone on the committee your questions, or just share your thoughts. Committee members include Mark Christy, Amy Dowell, Cheryl Leamer, and Jill Pepper.

Second, the time for my Sabbatical is coming quickly! Just like our conversations with First Christian, this comes with both the stress of making sure everything is in place and covered while I am gone, as well as the excitement of three months to rest my weary body, mind and spirit!

I know many of you have questions around this, and we will talk more over the next couple of months. Here is a brief rundown of what my plans are—albeit there are several things still up in the air!

June 4—The last Sunday before Sabbatical. We will hold a blessing during worship, and a reception following.

June 5—September 4—My Sabbatical

June 5—June 11—State Trap Meet in Cedar Falls, Iowa

June 12—June 28—We hope to be camping at West Lake. This allows us to be close to home for David and Karsten if they need something, but for me to be away from the church. Living right next door creates a unique problem for me, as I can see everything that goes on through my living room window. In order for this to truly be effective, I need to break away for a while.

June 29—July 4—General Synod in Indianapolis, IN (I am an Iowa Conference delegate)

July 5—August 10—I have 3 trips planned, but we are still trying to work out dates with those I am going to see, as well as flight details. I plan to visit my parents and sister and brother-in-law in West Palm Beach, Florida for 2 weeks, visit friends in Elko, NV for 10 days, and vacation with the family in Montana to see Jarrod.

August 11—September 4—I will return home and spend time on projects I would like to finish around the house, along with spending time with a friend on her flower farm!

September 5—I will return to the office.

September 10—My first Sunday back. We will have a lunch following worship, and I will show pictures and talk about what I did, and you will share what you did!

Every day I will spend time in prayer and meditation, as well as journaling. I am nervous about that, because I am not good at it—but that is part of the process! Your job will be to get to know the members of First Christian better by holding conversations, playing, praying, or whatever you come up with! Then when we get back together, we will look to the future! I know this unknown is scary for some, but in the end, the rest that we all take will be rewarded and blessed by God.

June 5—August 5—Jill Pepper will lead worship and be on call. She will be in the office M-TH 9—Noon.

August 6—September 4—I will let you know who will be leading worship and on call.

I will have a list out for volunteering in the next couple of weeks, so please watch for that. Again, I know you have lots of questions, and I will try to address more here next month. Otherwise, please feel free to contact me to ask!

~ Always Peace,  Pastor Heidi

Pastoral Ponderings – February 2023

“Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down; they cannot rise; they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  ~ Isaiah 43:16-19

Dearest Friends,

We met with the combined Faith UCC/First Christian DOC committee on Monday, January 16 for the first time. It was a good, and emotional meeting. I expect most of our conversations are going to lean to the emotional side. We thought it would be best for me not to report on the meeting—please see Cheryl Leamer’s Notes from the Council Chair on page 2 for those details. Rather, I am going to be your spiritual guide through this process. Sometimes when we let emotion get the better of us, we need someone to center us, get us back on track. That will be my role.

First, what we are doing is called Shared Ministry, which we are already doing. We not only share space, but we have shared our missions and ministries over the last year—Share-A-Meal, Lenten gatherings, Sunday Bible Study and Sunday School, special services, Trunk or Treat, to name a few. What our “shared ministry” will look like in the future, has yet to be determined.

If you haven’t already, I invite you to read the scripture above. “Do not remember the former things…..I am about to do a new thing….” I honestly believe that what God is telling us is NOT to forget our pasts, but rather, to forget the “way things have always been done.” Clearly, those no longer work for us. It is time to honor our past, while not allowing it to get in the way of our future. Easier said than done, I know.

The past can be nostalgic. With nostalgia comes emotion. Throw in some tradition that moves us, or is rooted deeply within us, and when those things are in danger of changing, we begin to get defensive. But God is doing something new. God is taking two churches, who are not able to go it alone much longer, and making a stronger church; a united church; a united people. God is removing the division from two churches of two different denominations and calling us to show the world (at least our little corner of it!) that one by one, it can be done. We can be united. We can, and are called, to be ONE Body in Christ.

How will this look? Again, this question can cause an emotional uprising. Some want it one way, some the other. Some want one thing, some want another. And back and forth, until nothing is settled.

But there is another way. In reality, it is the only way which will work. That is by keeping God at the center at all times. This calls for courage, patience, listening to understand one another, loving one another (even when we don’t want to), but most importantly, the way through to that new thing God is creating is for us to remember WHY we are church. We must keep our eyes focused on the mission and ministries we are being called toward— some of which we have never heard of yet!

While we follow God, keeping God at the center, I want us to remember a couple of things:

1) Shared Ministry is about innovation, unification, expanding, support, and working together.

2) What Shared Ministry is NOT, is survival. If we are doing this for survival purposes—whether for human resources, or (and maybe especially) financial resources, then we might as well stop now. If that is our focus, then shared ministry will not work.

So, I ask you—no, I challenge you—to pray that we keep God at the center at all times; for open ears, eyes, hearts, and minds; for wisdom; for courage; and most of all, for God to continue to be guide in this process. Because with God—EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

Pastor Ponderings – January 2023

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2022 has only a couple of days left, and the new year begins. With a new year, comes all kinds of new opportunities.

First, after 13 months of prayer and discernment, First Christian has heard, and is listening to God’s voice, and asked Faith to join them in conversation to merge our two churches. Council has approved moving forward with these conversations. This is a very exciting time for everyone, while at the same time, may be somewhat scary. We have no idea what this means yet, or how things will look. There are so many questions, and no doubt there are many concerns. Will we stay UCC? Will we be DOC? Will we be both? Will we be neither? (All four of these are options!) What will we call ourselves? Who will be our pastor? And no doubt, so many, many more.

Council has given authority to the committee, which was put together when we first entertained the idea of First Christian moving into the building, to meet with First Christian’s folks starting in January. We will begin by putting some sort of plan and time line into place which will involve open conversations with each of the congregations, and with them together. If you have questions, please let me know. At this point, I can’t promise that I can answer much more than I am telling you here until we get into the process, but I am all ears! The members of the committee are Mark Christy, Amy Dowell, and Jill Pepper.

In the meantime, I invite you to start writing down your thoughts and questions, as well as your creative ideas. If you are like me, I have notes everywhere! That way, you are ready for when the time comes to address them.

Please know, dearest friends, that if this is God’s plan for our journey, it will be done with God at the center, and will be done together.

The other is that I am taking my Rest and Renewal from June 5—September 3. I will be back in the office on September 4. This is 13 weeks instead of 12, as I will be attending the UCC General Synod as an Iowa Conference Delegate June 30—July 4, so I will be working one week.

Jill Pepper will be covering for me for part of the time—June and July. August is yet to be determined. We will know for sure by the end of January. This too, could be a time that is nerve-racking. But please know, this is a time for me to rest and get some of my energy back. I am going to do a little traveling to visit family, and do some reading, a little crafting, and spend time in meditation and prayer practices each day. Ultimately, I will be doing things which bring my heart joy.

We have so much to be thankful for, and there are so many blessings coming our way! Thank you, 2022, for all you have given us. Welcome 2023!!

~ Always Peace,   Pastor Heidi

 

Pastoral Ponderings – December 2022

“The Word became flesh and made a home among us.” ~ John 1:1-14

We are officially less than a week away from the first Sunday in Advent. I can’t believe how fast this year has gone!

This year, our Advent/Christmas worship series is called “reflecting the sacred”. When something is described as “sacred”, it is dedicated as “holy” or “set apart”. As we journey together during this season, I invite you to think about what it is that is “sacred” to you. What do you personally set aside as something that is “holy”?

I would like to invite you to take a step back this Advent and Christmas, and begin to look at your life with eyes that see everything as “sacred”. To help you do that, I am inviting each person to participate in a Photo-A-Day Challenge. To the right is a list of items for each day of Advent, ending on Christmas Day. As you move through your day, I invite you to find where that word speaks to you in your life, and then take a picture of it. I then invite you to go to our Facebook page and upload your photo. You can do so with or without an explanation.

If you are unable to post it on our Facebook page, please send it to me, and I will post it, again, with or without an explanation, or even a name if you wish.

If you are tech savvy, there are several filters you can use to make the background blurry (it’s called bokeh). For iOS, there is the Kaleido Lens app, and for Android there is the Kaleidoscope Camera app. You can also look at Soratama Lens for fish-eye bubble lens, or Crystaliq-Prism & Photo Editor. If you have trouble, let me know and I will see if I can help you!

Even if you are not interested in sharing your pictures on Faith’s Facebook page, I invite you to do this for yourself, so that you can reflect on what is sacred to you. (And join us on Facebook to see what others are posting!)

However you choose to participate in this daily reflection, I pray that you continue to find what you are seeking as you journey through this season. May God continue to watch over you, and bless you more deeply than you could ever imagine!

~ Always Peace,   Pastor Heidi

 

Pastoral Ponderings – November 2022

“The Word became flesh and made a home among us.” ~ John 1:1-14

We are officially less than a week away from the first Sunday in Advent. I can’t believe how fast this year has gone!

This year, our Advent/Christmas worship series is called “reflecting the sacred”. When something is described as “sacred”, it is dedicated as “holy” or “set apart”. As we journey together during this season, I invite you to think about what it is that is “sacred” to you. What do you personally set aside as something that is “holy”?

I would like to invite you to take a step back this Advent and Christmas, and begin to look at your life with eyes that see everything as “sacred”. To help you do that, I am inviting each person to participate in a Photo-A-Day Challenge. Below is a list of items for each day of Advent, ending on Christmas Day. As you move through your day, I invite you to find where that word speaks to you in your life, and then take a picture of it. I then invite you to go to our Facebook page and upload your photo. You can do so with or without an explanation.

If you are unable to post it on our Facebook page, please send it to me, and I will post it, again, with or without an explanation, or even a name if you wish.

If you are tech savvy, there are several filters you can use to make the background blurry (it’s called bokeh). For iOS, there is the Kaleido Lens app, and for Android there is the Kaleidoscope Camera app. You can also look at Soratama Lens for fish-eye bubble lens, or Crystaliq-Prism & Photo Editor. If you have trouble, let me know and I will see if I can help you!

Even if you are not interested in sharing your pictures on Faith’s Facebook page, I invite you to do this for yourself, so that you can reflect on what is sacred to you. (And join us on Facebook to see what others are posting!)

However you choose to participate in this daily reflection, I pray that you continue to find what you are seeking as you journey through this season. May God continue to watch over you and bless you more deeply than you could ever imagine!

~ Always Peace, Pastor Heidi