"I'd Like to Thank...."

September 28, 2010

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

Admittedly, there are certain passages in the Bible that I buzz through quickly, assuming their meaning to be minimal at best. I do this most often with obscure biblical names, like this list from Colossians 4:

Tychicus will tell you all the news about me; he is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow-servant in the Lord….He is coming with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you…..Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner greets you…As does Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions….Jesus who is called Justus greets you…and they have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you…is always wrestling in his prayers on your behalf. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. And say to Archippus, ‘See that you complete the task that you have received in the Lord.’ (Colossians 4:7-17)

Have your eyes glazed over yet?

Who are these people, and why does Paul choose to end this letter – like he does most of his letters – with an Oscar acceptance speech? We know virtually nothing about most of these folks, and it is tempting to skip right past their mention.

But this weekend at St. Paul’s has prompted me to write to you with the same personal, endearing spirit. This was as busy a 48-hour stretch as any I have witnessed in my years in ministry. On Saturday morning, we had a memorial service for Keith Willis, then a large wedding hours later in the afternoon. On Sunday, the children led us in worship in our annual Children’s Sabbath, followed by the community-wide Pork Feed fundraiser. Then a few hours later, our weekend concluded with a district-wide training event for area lay leaders. That made for five big events encompassing over 800 attendees from all over Northwest Iowa, all in the span of less than 30 hours.

The emotions of the weekend spanned from grief to celebration, from inspiration to information, and from worship to fellowship. I’d be hard-pressed to remember any other time that a church has had to transition from one distinct program to the next, with very little time in between.

But you all made it happen. With the funeral upstairs, kitchen volunteers were busy downstairs. When the luncheon was served in the Fellowship Hall, volunteers were exchanging funeral sprays for wedding bouquets upstairs (a transition from funeral to wedding that took only fifteen minutes!) When the children were leading us in worship the next morning, a whole new crew was grilling tenderloins and dishing up salads in the kitchen. And when the clean-up from the Pork Feed was over, a new group came in to set up for the Lay Leader Rally.

Every time I turned a corner on Saturday and Sunday, there was a different volunteer from this church, busy filling a role, executing with pinpoint precision their responsibility for the day, all with grace, warmth, and a loving spirit.

Often, preachers like me get all the spotlight. Since my presence appears to loom the largest, people assume that I did the most to make a weekend like this one go so well. But I’d like to dispel that notion, using Colossians 4 as my guide. There is no way – no way – a church could serve this community with such a high degree of excellence and love without beautiful people like you.

So, here we go, in Pauline fashion. Let me conclude this epistle with a personal touch:

I give thanks for Jeff Blum, who worked the sound booth for both the funeral and the wedding, and supervised the set up of the Pork Feed. He was at the church for about fifteen hours over the weekend, giving his time without need for recognition.

I give thanks for Phyllis Parrott, Donna Henrich, Jean Anderson, and the whole kitchen crew, who prepared a luncheon for the huge number of people at Keith’s funeral. They served with efficiency and grace, and quickly cleaned up from the luncheon in order to set up for the Pork Feed Saturday afternoon. That team included Shirley Zembsch, Elsie Lenz, Shelley Lenz, Jeanine Schroeder, Dee Taylor, and Sheree Hausmann.

I give thanks for Blake Burroughs, who traveled all the way from Ames in order to sing at Keith’s funeral, and Jenny Burroughs, who facilitated that connection. And thanks to Sherry Held, for playing the organ at Keith’s funeral, as well as the worship service the next morning.

I give thanks for Evan and Nancy Knapp, who served the critical transition between the funeral and the wedding. They helped clear the funeral flower arrangements and move the large number of wedding decorations in place, so that everything was ready for the bridal party within a span of fifteen minutes. Their work made for a very happy – and quite relieved – bride and groom.

I give thanks for Jill Chalstrom, who led our Children’s Sabbath effort this year. She and Linda Christensen prepared the kids to sing, speak, pray, and offer their talents in worship. Of course, I also thank all the regular Sunday morning volunteers – ushers, greeters, sound and video techs, and the bell ringer (that’s you, Rich Cook), for making worship happen every week.

I give thanks to the Parker family, for providing the delicious pork tenderloins for the Pork Feed, and for being at the church early Sunday morning to start cooking. I am also grateful for Chuck Tolzin and Al Henn, who were here earlier in the week to set everything up for the event, and to Denny Taylor, who put up and took down our publicity banner.

I thank members of the Finance Committee for helping with the kitchen service during the Pork Feed, including Marilyn Leissler and Berna Jenness, as well as John Cook for coordinating their efforts.

I give thanks for Marilyn Brubaker, our lay delegate to Annual Conference and lay leader of the District, for planning the great Lay Leader Rally in the afternoon. She oversaw preparations for the entire afternoon, and led the event with grace. Joyce Pyle served as our greeter and worked the registration table, and Roni Timmerman prepared a wonderful picnic supper for the attendees.

I know there are people I forgot to mention, so pardon me for any omissions. (Plus, I can hear the orchestra urging me to wrap it up.) But first, please note that among this list was not a single paid staff person. All of what we were able to achieve was by volunteers with a servant’s heart, offering their time and energy for the sake of our mission. Thanks to you, I received yet another reminder of why I am grateful to be your pastor. Together, we can achieve great things for the Kingdom, fueled by the faithful, tireless of work of people like you.

Thank you, thank you, St. Paul’s, for putting God’s love into action.

Grace and Peace,

Magrey

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
http://www.cherokeespumc.org




WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY
Join us this Sunday in this annual celebration of our global connection to the body of Christ. The service will feature breads representing countries around the world, made by Judi Klee of The Spice Rack. We will also be receiving a special offering for World Communion Sunday.

INGATHERING DONATIONS
We are challenging every family and household unit in the church to furnish supplies for at least one Ingathering kit this year. You can pick up the supply list at the church, and bring in your donations by next Monday. If you would like to make a financial contribution, please designate it for “Ingathering.”

NAME TAG REMINDER
With the large number of visitors we have been welcoming over the past several weeks, please remember to wear your name tag so we can create a warm, hospitable place together. If you would like a name tag (even if you are just a regular visitor), please request one using the attendance form on Sunday or by contacting the church office.