Today I had six consultations, one-on-ones with pastors, at the Platte Woods church. What a neat thing to be able to talk with the pastors in my district in this format! I asked Bryan Wendling, our part time local pastor at the Polo-Cowgill charge if I could share this story he told me this morning on my blog and he said sure, so here is an example of the small and beautiful moments that I get to hear about...each one unique and wonderful.
Bryan works as a computer programmer (his title is something other than that I am sure) in southern Johnson County Kansas and travels quite a bit. He lives in north Kansas City---his wife Brenda is a nurse; they have two teenage boys. Bryan is ex-military, was/is a lieutenant, a helicopter pilot and a whole bunch of other good things, too. He is bright, personable, and has answered a call to pastoral ministry. He hopes to complete seminary and be ordained. He is (supposedly) 1/4 time at his charge, but manages to get there whenever his folks need him. One day, he had received word that he needed to go directly from work up to Cowgill (which is, oh, 50 miles or so from his house, I guess) and Brenda knew that he didn't have much cash with him, or at least he wouldn't have time to get a good meal before he arrived...so...she met him at the Perkins parking lot in Liberty (on the way) with his supper she had made...I just love this story. What a neat thing...we all, married or not, need to have those folks who meet us along the way and give us what we need to keep going to the place that is calling us. Nurture takes a lot of forms in my life---a kind word about a blog entry; a Charles Wesley text set to a 21st century tune; finding Doug Strong last year serendipitously in the Yale Chapel (a colleague at Wesley Seminary who shares my passion around new forms of doing church); fixing a good meal last night for my children, that morphed into a meal for their dad who happened to come by at supper time...and then Caleb's girlfriend who happened to come by...; reading George MacDonald sonnets and having them speak the truth of what I sense about God's love; having Susan Vogel in my life who takes care of me by cooking a meal a couple of times a month; being able to follow my emergent conversation passion and being affirmed by my denomination and Bishop; and on and on. Many people meet us, who, miraculously sometimes know better how to take care of us, than we do ourselves. I wish sometimes that more churches were like the Perkins parking lot, where those who already love us, and those we are asked to love can within and outside our church walls find ways to feed and nurture each other, and empower each other to go find others to care for and feed.
1 comment:
Susan,
Great stories, I to long for the church to be a place like that for all people, not just our family and friends. Isn't it good to hear those great stories of love nad family. They do call the church out to be something different, something more than a Sunday gathering place. God help us forget the things we have learned and learn anew to be the church of Christ.
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