Candee Calling- September 2nd
Dear Friends,
As September arrives, I’m reminded of how much I love autumn. Though I always hate to see summer end, the brilliant reds and golden hues that nature adorns are a feast for the eyes. The smell of bonfires permeates our air while the taste of pumpkin is to be found in everything from coffee to ice cream to soup! If we’re still long enough, we can hear leaves dropping to the ground, children romping and stomping in a pile of them and squirrels scurrying to bury nuts and acorns in the ground beneath them. No doubt, fall is a feast for the senses!
In my childhood, autumn always meant the return to school, complete with a new wardrobe, shoes (school and tennis), No. 2 pencils, a perfect box of 48 crayons, a 3-ring binder, and a lunch box (or “bucket”). I looked forward to having a “new” teacher, a different set of classmates and reading unfamiliar books. September also meant that one day I’d arrive home to discover that my father had begun making caramel apples and selling them in our bakery. That was the best day of all!
Nostalgia – the dictionary defines it as a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time. How I’d love to return to the days when my father was alive, making caramel apples in the fall. I’m aware that that is not a possibility, but I do, however, have the copper pot in which the caramel was made, thanks to Katie Johnson (long story). And even though I do not use the pot for cooking, it does make a very pretty and useful plant stand! It still exists but in a new time, new place and with a new purpose. Still, I have the gift of remembering its past and savoring all the emotions the pot evokes.
There’s a lot of nostalgia floating around these days – a desire to get back to the way things functioned in the church pre-Covid, or pre-turn of the century or pre-not having a lead pastor. We long for the simple, stable, ordinary, and familiar instead of having to live in a time of unknowns and uncertainty. Yet, we know that that is not reality. Change is going on all the time around us and inside of us. And the fact of the matter is that all living things – people and institutions must adapt to change and flex or succumb to dis-ease and even death. We can remember the past with great fondness and give thanks for all its blessings, but we cannot recreate nor relive it. We must move on, trusting God always.
Last Sunday, Pastor Steve Molin reminded us in his sermon, to be patient and pray. I would also add words from Deuteronomy 31:8 that remind us of God’s presence so as not to be fearful nor discouraged. In time, God’s time, we will have an interim pastor and then, a lead pastor. In the meantime, God is calling us to work together, maybe even stepping out of our comfort zones as we take on new tasks. God is calling us to be flexible, resourceful, respectful, and yes, patient as we wait to see what our future holds. To God be the glory!
Peace,
Pastor Candee