- During my first couple weeks on the job, I plan to meet individually with many of the people in key leadership roles in the life of the congregation. Specifically, I am hoping to meet with all members of the church staff, with your Clerk of Session (Bruce Archer), with your Deacon Moderator (Phil Gamber), and with the chairs of all the various committees. Their job during those meetings will be to give me the “crash course introduction” to the ongoing life and ministry of the church.
- During my first week on the job, I plan to make the rounds to all the “homebound” members of the congregation, to those in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities, and to those who are currently in any of the area hospitals. Since we will be celebrating the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper on my first Sunday, May 11, I will be bringing home communion to those who wish to receive it. Some of the Deacons will be assisting me with these visits.
- The Session and I will be taking a little retreat around May 16-17. We’ll be talking about the past (where the church has been – because history matters), the present (where the church is now), and the future (where God is calling this church to go). It is my hope that this retreat will result in at least a general idea of where we are headed in the months to come!
- Sometime around May 28, Katharine and I are expecting the birth of our fourth child. We know neither the day nor the hour! When the baby comes, I will be taking a week off as we try to settle into our new lives. But the ministry of the church will carry on! The Worship and Music Committee is already working on making sure that the pulpit will be filled on the Sunday that I will be out of action. We’ll also make sure that there is pastoral coverage available in the event of a dire emergency.
- I’m sure that after a week my head still will be spinning, but at that point, I’ll really start to settle in. My first order of business, after the whirlwind introduction of the first few weeks, will be to get to know the church and its ministry. I’ll begin making my way (slowly) around the congregation, trying to get to know you all individually: your stories, your hopes, your dreams, your fears. My plan is to work my way through the list of members, starting first with those people who have been members of the church the longest (those of you on the “fifty-year member” list) as well as those who have joined the church most recently (those of you who have just joined. Then, I will start to work my way towards the middle, from both ends. Please be patient with me . . . this process will take many months! I will keep you posted regarding how far I have gone, and how far I have yet to go.
- I’ll also start working my way around to the various committees of the church. My general philosophy is that committees don’t ordinarily need the pastor present to be able to function effectively. I intend to rotate through all of the committees in a pretty systematic fashion; I will keep in close contact with the chairs of all the different committees on a regular basis; and I will show up at committee meetings when the committee specifically requests that I do so.
- I’ll also start working my way around to the various other activities in the life of the church – classes, mission activities, breakfasts, dinners, small group discussions, and so on. Be patient with me, please – it will take some time to make my way through all the various things that you all are involved in!
- There are lots of other people beyond the membership of the congregation that I will need to get to know: other local clergy, local funeral home directors, other people in leadership roles in the city, and more. (There’s already a list of names of people I need to meet with in the church office – and it’s growing!) These will be worked into my busy schedule!
- There are also a number of people around who are interested in the life and ministry of this congregation but who aren’t members. If you fall into that category, you might want to make sure that the church office has your current contact information. I will be working to get to know you, too!
- If you ever find yourself admitted to any of the area hospitals, please make sure the church office knows about it. Due to HIPPA regulations, hospitals can only inform churches about admissions if the patient specifically requests it. If I know that you have been admitted to the hospital, I will do my best to come visit you and pray with you. But I can’t do that if I don’t know that you’ve been admitted, so please make sure you keep us informed.
- I hold confidentiality in very high regard. Please know that if you share confidences with me, they will stay with me, unless I feel that there is a real danger that you might cause bodily harm to yourself or to another individual.
- For my sermons, I’ll be following the texts in the Revised Common Lectionary. This is a standard three-year cycle of texts that is used by many mainline Protestant congregations, intended to provide a balanced survey through the major texts of the Bible. Each week, the lectionary ordinarily provides for one text from the gospels, one text from elsewhere in the New Testament, one text from the Old Testament, and one psalm. You won’t hear all four texts each week, but you will hear at least one. For the next few months, we’ll primarily be focusing on texts from the Gospel of Matthew. You can find the full list of lectionary texts elsewhere in this newsletter. It’s a good discipline to read the passage ahead of time, before you arrive for worship!
I envision that the summer months will be a time for me to get acclimated. Don’t expect any major, significant changes to happen immediately! There will be plenty of time to work on growing the ministry of the church . . . my first priority, for the time being, is to work on getting to know this congregation very, very well. After I’ve made some good progress in that area, then we’ll roll up our sleeves and really start to get to work. . . .
My primary goal is to serve as your Pastor with integrity, courage and self-discipline in all my words and deeds in a way that embodies the rich heritage of our Reformed tradition, the just nature of our Presbyterian form of government, and an ever-present openness to the ongoing movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the life of this world, so that I might be instrumental to you in your spiritual journey as you seek to grow in your faith in God, in your commitment to the church and in your service to the world in the name of Jesus Christ.
I am looking forward to all the things that we will do in ministry together in the years to come!
Peace and blessings,
Rev. Bill Pinches
Pastor-Elect
