How to Transform Your Life in 30 Days or Less...

This blog post will either be very, very long or be split into several parts. I've been very busy for the past six weeks, which is why I haven't posted anything. So, I have a lot of news for you. Let me give you a brief synopsis, so you know what to expect and will stop chomping on your respective bits.

1. As of May 17, I am on family leave ad interim until June 30. This means I am no longer the pastor of St. John's. My last Sunday in the pulpit was May 4, and I took my remaining vacation time, through May 16. My District Superintendent totally supported me in this., and it was something that I needed to do, for a variety of reasons. I'm not going to go into those reasons here; you can e-mail me privately if you want details.
   
2. I've been accepted to a "Residency in Clinical Pastoral Education" at a hospital in Newport News. I begin on September 2. It's a paid position with benefits, and lasts for one year. After that, I may return to the local church or I may get a chaplain position. Only God knows!
   
3. We closed on our new house on May 16. The packers came to Danville on the 19th, they loaded on the 20th, and unloaded in Chesapeake on the 21st. We have about half the house unpacked, including our room, the kitchen, the family room, and most of the living and dining rooms.
   
4. Susanna turned nine (9) months old last Thursday. She has five teeth, number six is poking through, and we're hoping the teeth seven, eight, et al will wait a little bit. She's occasionally miserable, and so are we. Thank God for teething biscuits! She's sitting up by herself, scoots around on her back and tummy, and is making lots of new sounds. This includes "Da-da", which both James and I decided referred to him, since she was looking at him when she said it. Therefore, the kid has her first word at 9 months, and is looking to be as verbal as her mother. I'll post pictures soon, I promise.
   
5. The movers killed James' plasma TV. Thankfully, we had full insurance, so it will be replaced. However, in the meantime, we're back to the 10 year old 20" TV James bought in college. It's better than nothing, but we'll be glad when we have another nice, big screen TV again.
   
6. This stay-at-home mom thing is way harder than I thought it would be. I don't think I'm cut out to do this long-term. I love taking care of Susanna, but I'm not that great at domestic stuff. However, I think I will learn to be a better cook in the next three months.
   
7. James still loves his job. He's splitting time between Norfolk and Suffolk, and works what I call the "schoolyard shift" (between 6:30-7:00 a.m. and 3:30-4:00 p.m.) so he can beat traffic and spend more time with us in the evening.
8. It is so, so nice to have our family together again. It's also nice to be closer to my parents (who live less than 20 miles away) and some of our friends. We can actually have a social life now. Woohoo!
9. I feel peaceful and stress-free for the first time in I-don't-know-how-long. My marriage is better than it has been in a long time, and I hope that the next year will bring healing and wholeness.
   

Time Flies

Wow, here we are at the end of March and it's been over a month since I posted a blog entry with any real content. Lots has been going on. As you can see by the picture, Susanna is growing by leaps and bounds. She now has two bottom teeth and she likes biting anything (and anyone) she can. At her six-month checkup she was 26" long and weighed 17 lbs, 4 oz. We've moved her out of her infant seat (which will soon be going to her still-in-utero cousin, Jacob) and into a "big girl" car seat. It's a Britax Boulevard, which tends to be pretty pricey. However, we got a great deal on it (30% off or something like that) during their annual sale. Yay for Baby Bargains and their cool blog. Besides, she'll be in it for another 3 1/2 years (according to VA law), so it's a worthy investment. Susanna also started on solid foods about a month ago. I'm adding a new food every 4-5 days, to check for allergies. Her repertoire currently consists of: rice cereal, baby oatmeal, sweet potatoes, pears, carrots, bananas, peas, and applesauce. She loves solid food and can't wait until she can eat some of Daddy's pancakes.

Speaking of Daddy (a.k.a James), he's doing very well himself. He loves his new job...did I mention that James has a new job? Silly me! Let me back up about six months...Last summer and fall, James began to get very fed up with NCCU. They were making incredible demands on his time (teach 3 classes a semester, work with 3 or 4 graduate students, maintain the computer server, AND publish one paper a year). It got so that he was working 50 hours down in Durham, driving 75 miles home, and then working for another hour or two. He'd even have to work (at home) for 5 or so hours on the weekends. He was utterly miserable and exhausted. Of course, things got even worse when Susanna arrived. We were at each other's throats a lot. Finally, we realized that things needed to change. James began looking for an industry job in either Tidewater or Northern Virginia. We were hoping that he'd find something by the spring, so he could begin in May or June. Then this job at Booz Allen Hamilton (an international firm that does a bunch of government contracts) literally fell into his lap. He applied, he interviewed, and they wanted him to start ASAP...which meant right before Thanksgiving. We decided that this was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so he took the job. He LOVES it. The only hitch...the job is in Norfolk, which is four hours away from Danville. So, he stays in an apartment in Chesapeake during the week and comes home on the weekends.

Of course, that means that since November, I've been a single mother during the week. Thankfully, Susanna is a very easygoing and healthy baby, so I've been doing just fine for the most part. There have been a few difficult weeks, such as last week, when Susanna had diarrhea, I wasn't feeling too hot myself, and it was Holy Week. There was also the week that I had an upper respiratory virus (complete with fever). I hate having to cart her to every evening meeting at church, but thankfully there aren't too many of those. I also worry about what would happen if someone from church had an emergency in the middle of the night. I would most likely bring her with me to the hospital, and hope that her presence might diffuse some tension. Hopefully that won't happen, though. Generally, it's been very manageable, and at least I know that a) James is only four hours away if something MAJOR happened, b) James will be home on Friday night, and c) this is only for a limited amount of time.

You may have figured this out already, but in case you haven't...I'm leaving St. John's in June and will hopefully receive an appointment in the Tidewater area. Obviously, our family needs to be together again and resume/establish some semblance of normal life. However, I probably would have been moving this year even if James hadn't gotten the new job. Without going into details (you can e-mail me if you want those), the church and I have mutually agreed that I'm not the best pastor for them. I have loved my time here, and have learned a great deal about ministry and about myself. St. John's is full of wonderful servants of God and I will always hold them dear in my heart. It's time to move on, though, and I hope that their next pastor is able to stay for more than two years. I think that they need and deserve someone who can stay a while and really help them grow in ministry.

This post has turned into a novella. The princess (as I call Susanna) will be up between 6:30 and 7:00, so I'd better turn in so I can get enough beauty sleep. Toodles.

Welcome to Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of Lent. Normally, I would have just come home from leading my church's Ash Wednesday service. However, I cancelled my church's Ash Wednesday service because I am sick.

It all began with a sore throat on Sunday night. I figured I might be coming down with a cold, so I sucked on a zinc lozenge before I went to bed. Sure enough, I felt fairly stuffy and "icky" on Monday morning. I continued to suck on zinc lozenges throughout the day and drink plenty of fluids. I felt well enough to continue my normal activities. Then came Monday night...

I developed a cough which kept waking me up. Around midnight, I woke up and felt feverish. I checked my temp; it was 99-something. Around 3am, I woke up again, checked my temp, and it was 100-something. By the time I woke up, I was feeling worse and was still feverish. So, I went to the doctor...and they said I have an "upper respiratory infection", which is basically a bad cold. I've never heard of having that high a fever with a cold, but OK. They sent me home with instructions to take it easy and drink lots of fluids.

Since I was feeling uber-crappy, I followed directions. Based on my history, if I don't take care of myself, a cold will develop into either a sinus infection or bronchitis. I've slept as much as possible, in between eating, taking Susanna to and from daycare, caring for Susanna, and caring for Woody (who has a kidney infection--more on that later). The end result; the fever has broken and I'm not feeling nearly as "gunky" as I was 24 hours ago. I'm hoping that a good night's sleep will enable me to be fully functioning tomorrow.

What a week...

I don't know how my clergy friends with big churches or sick and dying congregations do it. Honestly, I don't. I've had a VERY quiet tenure at St. John's--no deaths or life-threatening events in almost 19 months. That changed last Wednesday, when one of my members had a heart attack. He spent three days in the Danville hospital before being transferred to Duke. He underwent triple bypass surgery today and is stable (PRAISE THE LORD). I'm delighted that the surgery went well (in that he made it through alive).

I am however, totally exhausted. In the past week I have made three trips to the Danville hospital (only 11 miles) and two trips to Duke (almost 70 miles one way). I woke up at 4:30 this morning so I could drop Susanna off at daycare by 6:30 and be at Duke by 8. I walked through the door of my house at 5 after picking Susanna up at daycare. It's yucky outside, so my plans for the evening are to stay up until a decent hour (8pm or so) and then crash.

I love pastoral care...caring for my members and their families in times of crisis. It's one of the things that made me want to become a pastor. It is however, utterly exhausting emotionally. It's hard to explain, so I'm not even going to try. However, I do think that my exhaustion and even occasional tears (at the mere thought of having to bury this gentleman) are indicators of my love and my investment, and in that sense, they are good signs.

Susanna at two months old

Here's a quick picture of Susanna, who is growing so fast it's hard to believe!! She turned two months old last Monday, and has her two-month checkup (complete with shots) on Friday. Today was her first full day in day care (sniff, sniff). I miss her like crazy, but I am getting SO much more work done. Susanna is being baptized this Sunday. Our friend and former pastor, Dave, is doing the baptism. Therefore, I feel the need to really have a kick-butt sermon this week. Not that I don't try to have a great sermon every week, but it's not every week that your former pastor is in the congregation. :) Off I go to exegete and apply...

Holy Week, etc.

For those of you whose lives don't revolve around the Christian liturgical calendar, today is Palm Sunday, the day we Christians remember Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We have just begun Holy Week, during which we remember and celebrate (in a minor-key sort of way) Christ's institution of the sacrament of communion, His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, and subsequent trial, suffering, and death. Of course, the best part comes on Saturday evening/Sunday morning, when we begin the Easter season, celebrating Christ's resurrection and victory over death. I LOVE this time of the year...even the gloominess of Good Friday. These are really the "high holy days" of the Christian faith---and they should take precedence over Christmas in terms of importance.

Because I believe so strongly in the importance of observing Holy Week, I've really "pulled out all the stops" in planning for this week. I may regret it later, but I'm having fun right now! Today, we passed out palm branches, heard the Gospel reading outside, and then processed in, waving our palm branches. I've planned services on Holy Thursday AND Good Friday. On Easter Sunday, we'll have our usual 11 am service, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt. Please pray that word gets out about that, and we have a decent number of children present! Our congregation doesn't currently have any children, but we're trying to change that and attract some young families.

I've begun to feel much more comfortable in my role as "Pastor Patti" now that I'm nine months into my tenure, and I know that I'll be here until at least June 2008. I'm much more comfortable with expressing my opinion and vision and trying out new avenues of ministry. My congregation has helped with this, too. They're very willing to try new things so they don't get "stuck in a rut." My newest project has been learning new songs. Today we began learning "And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley. We'll sing it every Sunday in April, and by the end of the month we should know it well enough to add it to our repertoire. Hopefully by the end of 2007 we'll have learned four or five new hymns. In 2008 I'll begin trying to teach them some more contemporary songs.

Everything is going well on the pregnancy front. One of these days I'll get around to posting "belly pictures" for your viewing enjoyment. James and I have begun searching for nursery furniture in earnest. We've decided on getting a "convertible crib" that can transition into a toddler bed and then a full-size bed. This is the one we're seriously thinking about getting. The picture shows it being used as a toddler bed. It's made by Stanley Furniture, and is mostly solid wood. It's a little pricey, but we've seen other cribs that cost the same and aren't nearly as sturdy and high-quality. Hopefully this will last Baby Money many years:

We'll probably get a glider with matching finish at Babies R Us or Target, because they have the lowest prices and decent quality. We'll get a dresser than can double as a changing table, but it may be cheaper to buy one unfinished (maybe from GoodWood or someplace like that) and finish it ourselves. We shall see. The baby's room isn't that big (10' x 12'), so a crib, dresser, and glider should fill it up fairly well.
The church has graciously agreed to let us paint the baby's room to match the decor. We're waiting to find out if Baby is a girl or boy before we make the final decision on the bedding theme. I'm excited about decorating the room; it should be fun!
OK, I've rambled on enough. Time to get the laundry out of the dryer and do some folding! Have a wonderful Holy Week!

Coming Soon: Baby Money!!!

James and I are delighted to announce that we are expecting our first baby!! We found out on
December 23, so it was a great Christmas present! My Estimated Due Date is September 1, which currently puts Baby Money at 12 weeks, 1 day gestation. We had an ultrasound on Thursday and got to see the baby and hear the heartbeat. Everything looks good so far. We just told the church today, because I wanted to wait until I was at least 12 weeks along before we told them.



Although I'm not "showing"yet, I can't fit into hardly any of my regular clothes, and have therefore started wearing some maternity clothes. I plan on doing some major shopping in the next couple of weeks for some more maternity clothes.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Two are regular 2-D pics from the ultrasound, and one is a 4-D picture.

St. John's Enters the 21st Century!!

Thanks to one of our wonderfully talented new members (who "just happens" to be the pastor's husband), our church now has a website! James is working hard at building it, so it's a little bare for now. But check back in the weeks to come, and you should see some major progress. Here's the address: http://www.stjohnsdanville.org

Yes, I realize I have been horribly negligent in blogging recently. My grandmother sent me an e-mail reprimanding me for not updating the blog! Sorry about that. But lots has been going on in our lives what with church, work, and two dogs. Expect some more blogging activity in the next 3-4 weeks. I promise!

Charge Conference: I Survived It!!

I survived my first-ever Charge Conference. That's a huge praise. It's not the actual event that's so stressful; it's all the paperwork that needs to be completed. We're talking about 25 forms, most of which need to be signed by one or more people, and I needed to have three copies of each form. Not to mention committee meetings for salary, budget, and nominations. Administration is not my strongest gift (most definitely), so I was little stressed about doing everything right. Next year, I'm starting three months in advance. And I'm going to have people help me, instead of doing most of it myself. Definitely.

I feel appreciated

In case you didn't know, October is Clergy Appreciation Month. I knew that, but I wasn't "expecting" anything from my congregation because a) I didn't know if they usually observed it, b) I've only been there for four months, so we're still in the "getting to know you" stage, and c) I didn't enter this vocation expecting to receive any earthly rewards-only heavenly ones!

Anyway, on Sunday morning my PPR (Pastor-Parish Relations) chair stood up at the end of announcements and asked to come to the front. I was curious, but I naturally agreed. She then presented me with this GIGANTIC gift basket and card (which contained a gift certificate) on behalf of the congregation. I was very touched and wonderfully surprised.

The timing of this was perfect, because I've been slightly stressed over the past fews weeks due to the two words that strike panic in every Methodist pastor's heart: CHARGE CONFERENCE. It's this Sunday, and there is A LOT to do in preparation. Add to the fact that this is my first Charge Conference as a pastor and you can see why I've been hyperventilating a lot.

So whenever I get discouraged this week, I can go to the gift basket that sits in the living room (and is filled with all of my favorite delicacies-like Toblerone and Lindt truffles) and be reminded of how blessed I am to serve such a great congregation--especially since they've guessed the kind of foods I eat when I'm stressed!

When I am weakest, then I am strongest...

By the grace of God, I survived my second Sunday and my second week as "Pastor Patti". Actually, most people call me "Patti", which is fine. A few people call me "Pastor Patti", which is about as formal as I want to get.

I continue to feel that this congregation and I are a very good match. Actually, any pastor should feel blessed to serve St. John's. The people have a real, genuine faith that is lived out and evident in their daily lives. They have a strong desire to reach out to the community. For example, we're holding VBS (Vacation Bible School) this week, even though we don't have any young children in the congregation. The youth group (which is tiny) and various other members have been knocking on doors and inviting kids to VBS! We had five kids tonight, and more may come tomorrow.

They're still saying nice stuff about me, and providing concrete examples of how the service or a part of a sermon touched them. That tells me that they're not just saying stuff to be nice. And my most honest critic (James) is giving me positive feedback, also. If you know James, you KNOW that he doesn't sugarcoat stuff. He doesn't have that ability, and I love him for it.

We are slowly...very slowly...getting settled into the parsonage. We're both working full-time now, and James is only here on the weekends. So I try and get done what I can in the evenings. I finally found the bag of little things to hold the shelves up, so now I can start loading the bookcases with my books. That should take care of 20 boxes or so!

My First Sunday: I Survived It!

Thank you Lord, for getting me through my first Sunday!

I was a tad nervous this morning, realizing that: a) I would be meeting most of my congregants for the first time, b) that I would be celebrating Communion for the first time. and c) that I would be preaching for only the 15th time or so. I hadn't realized just how many details go into planning a corporate (i.e. group) worship service, especially one with Communion.

However, everything went fairly smoothly. I kept forgetting what was happening next, and kept glancing back at the bulletin (that I had typed, no less) to jog my memory. The pulpit is a few inches too high for me, so for most of the sermon I sort of "hung out" on the right or left side.

One of the funniest/awkward moments came when I began to prepare the Communion elements. I removed the cloths covering them and discovered...Saran Wrap. Yes, our very practical Communion Steward had covered the juice and bread with plastic wrap. Makes sense, actually, since she had probably set everything up last night. The plastic wrap kept out bugs and prevented stains. However, it took a few extra minutes for me to remove the plastic wrap. Next month I'll know to remove it before the service. :)

My congregation is small; about 50-60 people were in worship this Sunday. However, they clearly love the Lord with all their hearts. And many of them already love their pastor; I received about 10 hugs! They were very gracious and welcoming toward me and James. And several people asked how Woody was doing, too!

Now that I have a full week to prepare for next Sunday, I should feel more "in control". Maybe by mid-week I will have had time to unpack my books, too!

Live! From Danville...

It's been a crazy few days. On Tuesday, James and two NCCU guys (David and Mark) loaded a Penske truck with 3/4 of our furniture. It was POURING RAIN for most of the day, but they loaded stuff in between bursts of rain.

On Wednesday morning, we moved into the parsonage. I have to say, this pastor thing is pretty cool! We had a "moving crew" there to help us unload, cold drinks and some food in the fridge, and fresh flowers. At about 2:30 p.m. we left to drop off the truck and take James back to Morrisville (he had to teach that night, and our other car was at the apartment). I headed back to Danville after loading the car with more stuff.

Today (Thursday) the cable guy came and set up our Internet and TV. Then I went to the church to check out my office and do some work on the bulletin for Sunday. I also went to Wal-Mart and spent a disgusting amount of money on food and cleaning supplies. The nearest (major) grocery store is 8 miles away, so I don't plan on going more than once a week.

Tomorrow I'm going to finish the bulletin and copy it. I also have to put the finishing touches on my sermon. James thinks he may mow the lawn, since Danville received five inches of rain this week.

Woody is doing well, although he's a little confused with all this moving. However, he loves his new yard. All of the church people have loved him so far; they think he's SO well-behaved, SO handsome, etc.

I'll try and write an update next week.

St. John's UMC pics

On May 17, I met with the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee of St. John's United Methodist Church. They were a very gracious group of people; they even gave me a gift basket of yummy Virginia stuff! The congregation sounds great: caring, mission-oriented, welcoming, and excited about what God is doing in their midst. My first Sunday with them is July 2, and I can't wait!! Here are pics of the church: the altar, the entrance to the sanctuary, the sign (which will say "Pastor: Patti Money" in a month!), and my office. I don't have a secretary, so my 18-month stint as a church secretary will come in handy!

I'm going to be a pastor!!!!

My DS (District Superintendant) called about 9pm tonight. I have been appointed to St. John's United Methodist Church in the Danville District. The church is just outside of Danville, Virginia. It looks like it should be a 1.5-2 hour drive from Durham. Average worship attendance is 50-60 people, and the church has experienced a reasonable amount of growth in the past few years.

So it's official: I will be using my MDiv next year. And I'll be making twice what I make now. :) :)

Of course, now James and I will each have a fairly large residence (parsonages have a minimum of three bedrooms) that will be very EMPTY...because our furniture collection is still fairly small. Oh, well. Maybe it's time to add to the collection. :)