Appreciation

I first encountered James and Marie Powell when Marie registered for "Focus '85", a national children's worker conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. I was working part time as Barbara Garcia's assistant at the General Board of Discipleship while Philip finished his masters in church music. Barbara had chief responsibilities for planning the conference---I was registrar. Marie was Conference Children's Coordinator at that time, and after I became minister of education at Kirkwood, I became part of that committee. Marie and I have ended up at many national Christian Educators gatherings together, as well as many other conference events. In 1990, I think, while I was pregnant with Caleb, Philip and I (and Caleb in vitro) were passengers in the Powells' car going, I think to that wonderful thing in Ft. Worth where we were introduced to the "Vital COngregations" emphasis from the Council of Bishops. I think it was called "The Gathering." One image I remember most from that conference is that during one of the spirited worship services, several of the bishops formed a conga line and danced...somehow, I don't quite see Bishop Schnase in a conga line, but, hey, who knows???
ANYWAY, through the years, here are some ways my/my family's life as intersected and been enriched by James and Marie:
---James was one of Philip's first Gospel Colors customers, and supported him early and often
---I (and I think Philip too) were guests in their home several times while James was pastor at Webster Groves, just out of generosity to us
---James and Marie are Caleb's godparents, and sort of adopted Cana too. We have a picture of James and Caleb at annual conference when Cabie was about 6, sitting on James' knee at one of those narrow, crammed-in tables at the Expo center
---We bought their old Puma popup camper (or bartered for it with Gospel Colors stoles!) back in, oh, about 1993--seems longer ago than that
---James was my district superintendent during my last couple of years while I was at Community UMC in Columbia, and I still recall the phone call we had in late July or early August of 2000, when James gently influenced me to say yes to the move to Broadway, and I will always be grateful
---They, along with their daughter Joy and her son Cade, came over in December of 2004 to my fiftieth birthday party at Broadway, to help me celebrate
---Oh, many others, many others.

James has been assistant to the bishop for three years (maybe more) and today there was a retirement party at the Conference Center in Columbia, where I happened to be because of a meeting I was attending there. During my first year on the cabinet, (and this is true for the other newbies as well) James answered procedure questions; for me, he came over to one congregation where I anticipated some conflict in a difficult meeting, and sat, and even told the bishop, I believe, that I was doing a good job with this. Last Saturday, we were in a meeting together, and at the end, James, bless his heart, asked me to tell him what "emergent" is...I get a lot of that, and seem to mumble and I don't think I do a very good job describing it--postmodernity, cultural shifts, ancient/future faith, and iconography are still not widely used words or concepts at least for UMC ministers, and I want to find a better way to interpret these. On Saturday, though, unlike many clergy with whom I speak about such things, James really listened, as he always has, and I again was thankful for those who have gone ahead of me, who have mentored me, who have loved me into being who I am, unfinished as I am. Thank you Grandpa Jim and Marie, for who you are, and for all the people you have listened to and cared for, especially the Cox-Johnsons who have needed it at times so much.