Pastor's Message

September 2005

Honeymoons are not just for newlyweds. When a new pastor comes to a church, the first few months, or perhaps a year, is often called a “honeymoon period.” A new pastor comes with fresh, new ideas and the congregation is relieved to have concluded their interim time and excited to start a new phase in the life of the congregation. In this time of getting acquainted a congregation is willing to permit a new pastor to introduce new ideas and in fact receives many new ideas with enthusiasm. This enthusiasm translates into increased attendance as well as growing membership.

In many ways, I felt that we were able to extend the honeymoon period for me at St. Paul’s UCC to five years. From 1998 through 2002 we experienced growth in attendance, growth in membership, growth in Sunday School and Youth programs as well as other programs, and a growth in giving and budget to sustain each of these areas of growth. We introduced a number of new worship services that continue, such as our 10:30 service, Youth Sunday, World Wide Communion Sunday, Totenfest and the 4:30 Christmas Eve service, and some that have not continued, such as Season of Thanksgiving, Andrew Sunday and Homecoming Sunday. We were able to expand youth and children’s clubs to all ages and started a Men’s Fellowship. And we did all this with very little decrease in other programs.

But 2002 was the last year of this growth. Since then, each year we have seen a slight decrease in worship attendance and we have discontinued several special activities, as mentioned above. After 5 years of steady growth it was discouraging to see this decrease. I was unable to identify any particular cause, other than the “end of the honeymoon.” Some people drifted away from the church but even in my visits with them I could not identify any particular reason for this drift. I noticed some began to attend less regularly, and although the decrease was very small and participation was still considerably higher than before 1998, the direction had changed. We tried a few new ideas, such as the creative use of contemporary music (with important help from Bev Geib and others) and an occasional new hymn, but I also began thinking that perhaps it would take a new pastor to spark that enthusiasm again. I definitely did not want to just “hang on” as the congregation started declining.

And yet, there were still so many good things happening at St. Paul’s UCC. I did not want to just move to another church. There were a number of folks in our congregation, younger than I, who had retired. But I didn’t think I was ready for that. I prepared my profile, just in case a new opportunity would open up, but I specifically stated that I did not want it circulated among churches, yet – with one exception. I thought it might be nice to be a little closer to family, and so I agreed to have my profile circulated in Western North Carolina Association only. My thinking was that I wanted to enjoy the fruits of my labors at St. Paul’s UCC for a few more years - - unless a new challenge came along that would make it possible to visit that new grandson more often.

The new challenge has come along. Peace UCC in Greensboro has extended a call to me to become their pastor. I have accepted the call. I have given my 90-day notice to the consistory and I have spoken to the congregation about my departure at the end of November.

It has been a good pastorate. My stay has been average for UCC pastors (8 years is about average). Let’s use the next 3 months to reflect on what has been good, what we want to continue and what direction St. Paul’s UCC would like to take in the future. You know I have given all my energy to being your pastor for the last 7 ¾ years. I intend to do the same for the next ¼ year. Come and see me. Give me a call. Share your ideas. Let’s not think of this as a conclusion but a time to build a bridge into the future.