Merging is an Ongoing Journey - Pancakes!!!

Back in February, 2020 roughly a month before our merger was to take place, I attended my first PUMC function, a Shrove Tuesday dinner of pancakes and bacon.

Since then it has been a whirlwind of activity, even though there was a break from mid-March 2020 until mid-July 2020.

Pancakes 2023

Well, last night, the return of the Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner returned. And with it came really fluffy pancakes. And turkey bacon. And bacon. And sausage. And apple sauce. And coffee - which was a bad decision on my part. 

It felt like in some ways I had finally come full circle, now attending as someone who has been involved at church a lot. And knowing more people so having a group of people to sit with. And talk with while waiting on line for pancakes. And to visit with over the course of the night.

I was so excited about the pancakes. Not just because I love pancakes. But because it brought me back to that first time I stepped into the PUMC building as someone who would soon be a regular part of the congregation. Though I was eagerly looking forward to a break from having to do everything, that first time knowing that I would soon have a new church family with new church experiences. Where I could attend service or events and not have to do all the things. Until I realized that doing all the things almost runs in my blood or something.

I never really had the opportunity to experience the hospitality PUMC offered before attending that Shrove Tuesday meal back in 2020. But then I did and it helped me feel ready for the next steps our small congregation in Wappingers was planning to take over the next month. (Or so we thought until COVID got in the way.)

So yesterday I got to experience pancakes once again. And later today I will experience another Ash Wednesday service. (Which has its own set of memories.) And another Lenten journey will begin.

Merging is an Ongoing Journey - Regeneration

I was a late-comer to Doctor Who. I started watching in the middle of the Eleventh Doctor's run (Matt Smith). I got the gist of the show without watching it. And, if you think about it, what really helps with the longevity of the show is the show's ability to continue with a main character (The Doctor) but without having to tax a single actor/actress in the role for the entirety of the show.

So what does Doctor Who have to do with my Merging being an Ongoing Journey?

Well, I got to thinking the other day that a pastoral reappointment is kind of like The Doctor's regeneration.

Yes, yet again, I will be encountering a new pastor. That will make 5 since 2018. Well, once the new pastor is appointed and July 2023 hits anyway.  So I've gotten really good at transitioning to new ways of doing things.

So during Matt Smith's run as The Doctor, and when I started watching, he had one set of companions. Then they left and he gained a new one, Clara. And during the character of Clara's time on the show, she experienced the regeneration of the Eleventh Doctor to the Twelfth Doctor (played by Peter Capaldi). 

The thing about regeneration is that The Doctor is still The Doctor, just with a different face and different mannerisms.

Trying not to give too much away if you're really behind in Doctor Who and want to avoid spoilers, but Clara had a difficult time dealing with the regeneration she witnessed. Until she receives a phone call from The Eleventh Doctor before he regenerated (it's a time travel thing). It is this phone call that helps Clara see the regenerated doctor is the same person, with just a few differences.

Each pastor that is appointed to a church, charge, or cooperative parish is their own person. They have their own way of doing things. They have different passions, ways of approaching a worship service or a meeting, a different way of preaching, and a different way of working with the church as a whole.

But they are all pastors. They all have similar training and expectations by the Bishop, the Cabinet, and the District Superintendent.

A new pastor is like The Doctor's regeneration.

Sometimes it is hard to accept the new face, the new name, the new personality, and the new everything else. Sometimes we are a bit like Clara, who was happy and comfortable with the way she met The Doctor. She didn't want his face or his actions or his likes and dislikes to change. But we just need to know that though the face may have changed and the personality may have changed and the worship style and management style and everything else may have changed - what hasn't changed is the future pastor's mission - to make disciples for the transformation of the world.

Photo from 2/13/2023