Thanks to our Student Appointments!

This here post is a shout out to the churches in my district who are what we call "student appointments." Not all of them are served right now by students, simply because I did not find enough students to supply them this year, not because they didn't want students. There are about a dozen in my district. I often hear people talk about the small rural churches finding it hard to accept anything new and not able to change. However, my experience is often the opposite in what I find in the student appointment churches. These churches are usually served by Saint Paul School of Theology students, some never having preached a sermon in a congregation before much less presiding over a funeral or making a hospital call. And often these students come with new ideas for worship that are untried, and the churches most of the time are willing to give it a try.

An example of this is the Turney UMC who was receiving a new student pastor a couple of years ago. She very much wanted to celebrate Holy Communion every week. I was not sure how that would go over with the congregation. The PPR said at the first meeting with her "That would be great! How do you want it served? We can do it all sorts of ways!" meaning, I found out after I asked, that they could receive by little cups or wafers or pieces of bread or intinction. I was amazed because I know of large churches where the pastors would have real difficulty introducing a new mode of communion.

This same church now is saying goodbye to this same pastor, Judy Frost. Judy is wanting to finish school by May, and will need to immerse herself in study in order to do that. I was to put in a pastor (i.e. introduce the new pastor to the PPR committee) tonight. However that new pastor had had a change of heart about taking the appointment for understandable reasons, as I heard this morning. I, quite frankly, was shaken a bit because I thought this was pretty well set. I was very sad for the congregation because the folks were expectant. I was a bit worried about how the PPR chair, Betty, would take the news. When I called and told her what had happened, she really took it in stride...yes, they would be disappointed, but they could get by as long as needed. I told her I already had a couple of ideas about others who might serve there until annual conference. She said she was confident we would find the right person. In short, I felt affirmed, understood, and knew that I would be prayed for in the process.

I love these student charges! I love my student pastors from Saint Paul! And I love that the churches see their roles as a teaching one for these fresh pastors. I am uniquely blessed to have so many in the Heartland North district. I remember what one man said at Napolean UMC when I brought their new pastor for the first time this June, "we've had some awesome ones, we've had some dooseys and we've had some duds" quickly followed by: "we're here to make you a pastor and we are here to help you."

Thank you Napolean, Wellington, Turney, Corder and Alma, Malta Bend and Grand Pass, Dearborn, Camden, Polo and Cowgill, Hardin and Henrietta, Oakland, Orrick and Holt and Buckner until this year, Millville and New Hope until last year and all the others that sometimes have part time local pastors and sometimes either retired pastors and part time local pastors. We couldn't do it without you!