Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

	There are those who know and do not do.  This is very sad.  I
remember one day as I was walking along the highway a very nice car stopped
and the man said to me, "How wonderful that you are following your calling!"
I replied, "I certainly think that everyone should be doing what feels
right to do."  He then began telling me what he felt motivated toward, and
it was a good thing that needed doing.  I got quite enthusiastic about it
and took for granted that he was doing it.  I said, "That's wonderful!  How
are you getting on with it?"  And he answered, "Oh, I'm not doing it.  That
kind of work doesn't *pay* anything."  And I shall never forget how
desparately unhappy that man was.

				- Peace Pilgrim 1908-1981

	Peace Pilgrim walked more than 25,000 miles across the U.S.
spreading this message - "This is the way of peace: Overcome evil with good,
falsehood with truth, and hatred with love."

	The above was taken from STEPS TOWARD INNER PEACE which is not
copyrighted and the publishers welcome reprinting in whole or part.
300,000 copies are now in print and may be obtained through:

			Friends of Peace Pilgrim
			43480 Cedar Avenue
			Hemet, CA 92344

			or telephone (714) 927-7678

    For the benefit of E Grace, the title is VOcation, not VAcation.
    
    ;-}
    Richard

    >>   <<< Note 146.2 by CSC32::J_CHRISTIE "Watch your peace & cues!" >>>
    
    
    Richard,
    
    Are you sure that's not Os and Qs?  (*8
    
    wise guy!
    
    E Grace

    re: .1
    
    If you are talking about the same person I'm thinking of, I met the
    Peace Pilgrim a number of years ago.  She was a lady who was dedicated
    to walking about the countryside, and would continue to do so, until
    world peace was achieved.  It was reported that she carried all
    her worldly possessions on a belt around her waist.  The woman I'm
    thinking of, and I haven't thought of her for many years, was up in
    central Maine at the time, around 1963 or 1964 or so.

    Anyway, I was out driving with a couple of friends and saw her
    hitchhiking.  I recognized her from the article I had read about her in
    the local newspaper, and I talked my friend into giving her a lift. 
    After she got in the car, she explained that she didn't normally
    hitchhike, but she had a meeting or something that she had to attend in
    another town by a certain time, and so her concession to accepting a
    ride. 

    Now, I know this is a long way 'round O'Houlihan's barn to get to some
    sort of point, but it's your fault that you jogged my memories, and
    caused me to reminisce about this interesting person.  Anyway, even
    though we were all just teenagers, she was open to us and explained
    what her mission was all about.  She patiently answered our questions
    and asked a few of us, and actually seemed interested in our answers. 
    That was a bit new to me at time, at least.  Anyway, what she basically
    said was to follow our hearts and we would all be okay.  All in all she
    was rather a marvelous woman.
                                     
    Mike
                                 

    re .4
    
    Mike,
    
    It would seem she is the very same woman.
    It certainly sounds like she was a remarkable person.
    
    Richard

Don Reinke's mother (a remarkable woman in her own right) gave me a copy of 
the book about the Peace Pilgrim.  Haven't had a chance to read it as yet, 
but am looking forward to doing so as her name keeps cropping up for me!!!

Ro

    Have you ever felt God calling you to do something specific, as in
    a form of ministry or a vocation or ...?  How did you respond?

	I have been nudged by the Holy Spirit on more than one occasion.
In one instance, I would be trained as a hospital chaplain and then serve
2 years in that capacity.  Somewhat ironically, I would be called upon
several times outside my regular jurisdiction.  This happened frequently
enough that I now keep my chaplain's badge close by, just in case; even
though officially, I have discontinued serving as a member of the Pastoral
Care staff of the local health care system.

	Another time I was led to the Diaconal Ministry.  This is more
a ministry of the towel, than of the cup; more a ministry of service,
than of sacrament.  It is a called-out lay ministry.  Presently, I am
prayerful awaiting God's further guidance for me in pursuing this
ministry.

Peace,
Richard

    And where are you now, Richard?
    
    	Shalom!
    
    	Ron

Your comments on my statement on ministry which I am submitting before the 
national UCC will be very much appreciated!  This statement, when finally 
submitted, will be part of my formal profile (resume).  The statement is 
typically about 1 1/2 pages and this statement is one which meets me where I'm 
at now and where I hope to be in the forseeable future.


	Shalom,

	Ron
--------------------------------------------




                              My Statement on Ministry
                                          
            Have you ever noticed how our lives seem to take, over time,
            a direction that could only be described as seemingly spiral
            in shape?  We can probably select any past time in our lives
            as a  reference point  and then  when describing our journey
            through life could so easily see it as the geometric form of
            a spiral-type  shape with  its ups  and its  downs  and  its
            turnings around.
            
            A spiral  type shape  is one  that begins at a certain point
            and then  seems to  be somewhat  circular but one that never
            quite comes  back to  its originating point.  God moves with
            us in  this dimension  of life  - and  yet we so often loose
            "sight" of the God who so loves us ...
            
            My ministry  is a  conscious and  willing choice  to journey
            with you as you move through the journey of life, to be with
            you through  your so  many rites  of passage  over time  and
            through life-changing  events.   To minister  to you  is  to
            share in  the celebration of your joys and to share with you
            the pains of your sorrows.
            
            As we  journey on the path of our lives together, I shall be
            your friend,  your counselor,  the one in whom you can trust
            to confide, the one in whom you may turn to in your pain and
            suffering, the  one who will offer belly-rolling laughter in
            those times  of delight.  I hope to baptize your children as
            we  congregationaly   celebrate  the  presentation  of  your
            children's lives  before our loving God, to be with them and
            to help  them as they develop their Christian essence, their
            very being  and spirituality,  to help  them  as  they  work
            through the  growing pains  of adolescence, to marry them as
            they bond  to their new loves, and to present their children
            before you and before our loving God.
            
            Ministry is  a joining with you on your journey through life
            and helping  you to understand in your head and feel in your
            heart all  that God  means for  you to be in this so short a
            life as  we pilgrammage  together.  Ministry is walking with
            you in  servant leadership and is forever holding out before
            you the  promise of a new world that has no end, a new world
            in which there is a kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
            
            Thanks be to God for the possibilities of such a ministry!

Ron .9,

	Gosh!  Thanks for asking.

	Well, it seems like I'm kind of running in place at the moment.
Perhaps it's not really that way, but it feels like it.  Like a tree in
winter, there may be a lot going on, just not perceptibly.

	I'm serving my local church this year as Chair of the Worship team.
I preach when I'm called upon.  I'm a frequent participant in worship, taking
the invocation, Scripture readings, prayers and praises, the offertory or
some other facet of worship, often because no one else will.  It amazes me
how many people are squeamish about speaking in public.  Liturgists are the
easiest positions to fulfill.  Finding someone who'll pray aloud spontaneously
is the most difficult.

	I recently saw an ad in a magazine announcing a pastor search for
a church in Wichita.  You know, I almost responded to it, even without
credentials.

Shalom,
Richard

Richard,

You, the C-P'ers and I all know that you have more than enough credentials!

Maybe, just maybe you SHOULD go for it!  Your ministry in this notesfile has 
been, many times, appreciated and a measure of your witness, belief and support 
of our Holy One.

	Shalom,

	Ron

Ron,

	Your .10 is very good.  But I would have you add to it that your
ministry is to encourage, to inspire, and to challenge.
               ---------     -------         ---------

	Because of your note, I went ahead and sent off the letter I'd been
sitting on for a couple of weeks now to the pastoral search committee.

Shalom,
Richard

    Richard,
    
    Excellent suggestions and I'll add them to my statement!
    
    Great news about your letter and we pray for you that a call may be
    just around the corner!
    
    	Shalom,
    
    	Ron and Dot

    Ron .10,
    
    A wonderful and inspiring statement!  I'm planning to attend the lucky
    church and congregational family to whom God enjoins you.
    
    peace & many blessings,
    Karen  

    Richard - Go for it!!!!
    
    Ron (.10),
    
    Just one line I would correct:
    
    	"to be with you through your so many rites of passage..."
    
    Omit the word so.
    
    Otherwise it is perfect!  ;')
    
    Ro (with tech writer hat on)
    

    Thanks, Karen and Ro!
    
    BTW, Dot's preaching (sh! I told her I wasn't going to say anything -
    but then she probably knows better :-) ) for the first time as the
    Interim Associate Pastor on October 25th at Trinity Church in
    Northboro.
    
    She's following a thematic pattern on Stewardship ...  Her topic
    assigned to her is "Stewardship: Of Time and Talents".  The Senior
    Interim is not using the lectionary; so, Dot is free to choose her own
    scripture material.
    
    Unfortunately for me, I'm going to be working in New Orleans from Oct
    18 -> 27th or so at a major Oil & Gas Conference.  The church does
    videotape all services; so I'll have a chance to see it a few weeks
    later after the shutins have their chance to partake of the service.
    
    Trinity services are at 10:00am and the church is located on RT 20 in
    Northboro.
    
    	Shalom,
    
    	Ron

    For anybody interested, Dot's preaching date just got changed to Nov
    1st.  I'm glad because now I can be there!
    
    	Ron

    Well *I'm* interested, Ron!!  Thanks for the update.  Just wish I could
    be in the congregation to support her (and to see you beaming, of
    course)!!
    
    Shalom,
    Richard
    

    Enclosed is my final section of my profile which Dot is typing for me
    on the required form today.  It is a "self appraisal".  My style for
    this section is different than a nuts & bolts type of self appraisal
    and I'm interested on your comments.  From your reading this section do
    you have any knowledge or feeling about my self appraisal?  Do you know
    me any better or was I too indirect?
    
    BTW, if there are revisions, I'll be typing them next time.  :-)
    
    	Shalom,
    
    	Ron
    
    ps: Dot's sermon last week was well received as was her pastoral
    prayer.  Next time she preaches is Nov 29th, the first Sunday of
    Advent.





                                   Self-Appraisal
                                          
            "As often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, do
            so in  remembrance of  me."  To me the bread and the cup are
            the simplest  of things,  known by all, used by all, objects
            of nourishment by all.  And it seems to me that there exists
            an unlimited  number of simple things in life, simple things
            that offer  glimpses into  a better  understanding of  God's
            goodness and  presence and  glory and of God's message to us
            as individuals and as the larger interdependent community.
            
            God's presence  often slips  away from  us as  we  so  often
            stumble through  the stuff  of life.  We often get caught up
            rushing toward  our goals forgetting about the importance of
            the way  we get  there.   We often try to tunnel through the
            mountain side  rather than  mount a  slow  moving  but  sure
            footed donkey  which knows  its way  to our destination.  In
            this hectic  and often frantic pace we can and do easily not
            quite become all that God wishes us to become.
            
            I have  a gift  of being  touched, sensitized by many things
            around me  and around  you which  becomes  food  for  sermon
            illustrations or  food which  you and I can feed on together
            in  sometimes   light  -   and  sometimes  not  so  light  -
            conversations.
            
            It is  my desire  to walk the journey of life with you being
            your spiritual  guide, encouraging  you, inspiring  you  and
            challenging you to listen to and to respond to God's call to
            you.  You should not be surprised to find that God's call to
            you might not be exactly what you had in mind.  You might be
            surprised to  find that  sometimes, perhaps even often, that
            God doesn't  present you  with easy or "right" choices.  You
            may find  that being  a Christian  is  often  difficult  and
            sometimes seems  impossible.   You may stumble and fall, you
            may seem  to have  all things  together; my  wish is to be a
            constant reminder to you of God's presence in other people's
            lives and in yours - and that we aren't and don't have to be
            perfect people  to be  loved and  accepted by God - or to be
            loved and self-respected by ourselves.  We are baptized into
            God's world as children of God, as disciples of Christ.
            
            We are seeds of love having great possibilities to bloom, to
            flower, to  give off  fragrant odors, pleasing to others and
            to ourselves; yet, we need the simple stuff of life given to
            all, God's  plentiful bounty  of love watering us so that we
            may shed new seeds, so that we may become food and substance
            for our  following generations.   My  wish  is  to  be  your
            spiritual caretaker, your friend, your friend's friend as we
            come to  the table  of life together.  I praise and give God
            thanks for such an opportunity and ministry!

> From your reading this section do
>    you have any knowledge or feeling about my self appraisal?  Do you know
>    me any better or was I too indirect?

	It is a very lovely and well written essay. I do not, however, feel
	I have more than the slightest clue about how you see yourself. One
	paragraph is direct. The rest appear to be designed for some other
	document. I do not see them as even an indirect self appraisal.

	I doubt though that I or someone much like me is who this is designed
	for. One of the first rules of writing is to know ones reader. If
	you have done that than look for comments from people most like the
	real target. If you haven't got a reliable understanding of your
	target reader than you probably shouldn't have written any thing yet. :-)

	I could make some appraisal about you from this document but not really
	about how you see yourself. But than I'm a nuts and bolts sort of guy.

			Alfred

    re .-1
    
    Thanks for the response, Alfred.  The "readers" will be people serving
    Pastoral Search Committees (PSC) and will be reading the profile to make a
    first level decision whether they are or are not interested in going to
    the next level - that being a direct contact to the candidate.
    
    PSC's often have about a dozen lay people with one person's being
    chair.  The National Office of OCLL (Office of Church Life and
    Leadership) has the master profile for each candidate.  That office
    distributes the profiles to state Conferences designated by the
    candidate and the state Conference makes copies and sends them to each
    "applicable" or candidate specified church listed as seeking a pastor.
    
    I wish to spark an interest within PSCs so that they might wish to 
    enter the next level - the direct contact.  I hope that my style might
    generate a wish for them to know more about me, my skills, my sense of
    call, my experience.  
    
    My underlying theme within the self appraisal is that I see myself as a
    caring person concerned for the spiritual well being of people as
    individuals as well as in the larger community.  I believe I have God
    given gifts which help me to help others discover God's love for them
    and for us, to help them to see, to feel, to know more about God's
    presence no matter where people are in their journey through life.
    
    Sure, I work hard, pray a lot, meditate frequently, read and study
    scripture, like to preach and do pretty well from behind the pulpit as
    a beginning or entry level pastor.  Seems to me though that I see my
    skills, gifts, interests more closely associated with pastor as
    shepherd, a carer of and for the flock.
    
    In summary, I just wonder if my statement will be regarded as "this guy
    doesn't know how to answer the question" or "hmmmm, this person really
    relates to me; I wonder ..."
    
    Please continue to offer suggestions.  Our plan is to mail the profiles
    within a few days and then to let the search begin.
    
    	Shalom,
    
    	Ron
    

>    My underlying theme within the self appraisal is that I see myself as a
>    caring person concerned for the spiritual well being of people as
>    individuals as well as in the larger community.  I believe I have God
>    given gifts which help me to help others discover God's love for them
>    and for us, to help them to see, to feel, to know more about God's
>    presence no matter where people are in their journey through life.
>    
>    Sure, I work hard, pray a lot, meditate frequently, read and study
>    scripture, like to preach and do pretty well from behind the pulpit as
>    a beginning or entry level pastor.  Seems to me though that I see my
>    skills, gifts, interests more closely associated with pastor as
>    shepherd, a carer of and for the flock.

	*These* paragraphs I can relate to. Frankly they make me a lot more
	interested in you than the other ones did. They address what *I* look
	for in a pastor.

>    In summary, I just wonder if my statement will be regarded as "this guy
>    doesn't know how to answer the question" or "hmmmm, this person really
>    relates to me; I wonder ..."
 
	Frankly, the write up made me wonder why you were avoiding the question.
	Not completely as I know other people who talk and write that way who
	would probably say "this person really relates to me." It didn't relate
	to me. This is what I mean by knowing your reader. The two paragraphs
	above would do far more for me than the whole other note. However,for
	some people those two paragraphs might seem too flip and off hand.
	Though if you "flowered" them us, as I think you can :-), you might
	hit both groups. 

	I hope you're getting more deedback offline. I think my view is very
	slanted towards my personal style. Which probably isn't yours.

			Alfred

Note 146.20

Ron,

	This is good!  Your flair for imagery comes through as does your
warmth and gentleness.  I also detect a sense of humility and that you will
wield authority sparingly, preferring instead to gently influence and guide
others through sharing insights.

	From what you've written, I can tell you're a Godly man of enormous
compassion with an immeasureable capacity to nurture.

	I think I would have liked to have seen something that would give me
a clue about what your sense of humor is like.  A sense of humor in a pastor
is practically mandatory, I think.

Shalom,
Richard

PS  Will be praying for Dot as she prepares for the 29th!  And congratulations
to her on how well she's been received!  Praise God from whom all blessings
flow!!