A Saturday Flashback
For the first time in two years I found myself standing at the copier on Saturday morning getting ready for Sunday morning worship. There I was printing off a last minute insert for the Sunday Morning Bulletin, and it just struck me as déjà vue. In four years as solo pastor, I must have spent at least a third of the total number of Saturdays doing the last minute preparation of the worship bulletin because the week just had too many little emergencies and more pressing relational work to do.
Now I’m back in the role as a lay member, in a congregation with an outstanding Administrative Assistant to keep us all organized. So, I’m wondering to myself, how did I end up doing this on this Saturday?
Well, it’s countdown time for Vacation Bible School. I took on the role as Vacation Bible School Director this year. We are down to the tasks of collecting all the props and supplies. As hard as I tried to get my act together to get a final list together, I just couldn’t get it done within her timeline.
So, the opportunity today, to remember how grateful I am for the years I spent as pastor to a wonderful congregation, people who understood that the church is not a building, the church is the people.
I am grateful for the years of serving, after so many years of waiting and then preparing to step into the office of pastor. I am grateful for the sacred moments that I experienced, at death, with the grieving, at marriages, consecrating Eucharist, on pilgrimage, engaging with youth. I miss the fond friendships formed during our time of service. Most of all, I am grateful for memories of Vacation Bible School (always affectionately called VBS) each year.
VBS is like no other ministry experience. Part drama, part school, part circus, all FUN!
Well, of course VBS is also all about sharing God’s love, praising God, learning new songs, meeting new people and building relationships. But what I love most about VBS is that we tackle the great commission “Go and make disciples, teaching them to do all things that I commanded” and show that being the church is not all about saying “Shhhsh”, somber sounds and high sounding words.
All in all, that makes standing at a copier a few minutes and stuffing about one hundred bulletins with inserts on a Saturday morning well worth the time spent.
23 days and counting down to PandaMania!
