Pastoral Ponderings – July 2024

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7 

Every once in a while, as I write these, what I plan on writing about (prayer) is trumped by what Spirit wants me to write about (gratitude).

These last 2 months have been quite the ride, for all of us. Getting sick and being diagnosed with Neuroendocrine tumors was certainly not on my summer (or any other seasons) bucket list. And this on top of honoring the first anniversary of David’s mom’s death on June 22. I have walked this walk with many of you over the last 11 years, and I anticipate walking this walk with some of you in the future. But as your pastor who is your spiritual guide, not as the one who is being cared for.

For as many times as I have gone through it with you, though, it is very different going through it yourself. And dare I say, even more difficult when you are a pastor. Pastors aren’t supposed to get sick. They are the caregivers. The rocks that hold steady in the storms. But I am ever so gently reminded that, as I write that, God is laughing at me. (I know I have much to learn on this journey, and I plan on learning everything I need.)

It most certainly would be easy enough to sit back and let the sadness of the situation, the frustration, the cries of “This sucks! And “This isn’t fair!” to take over. But if you know me at all, that isn’t me, and it isn’t my nature. Like so many before me, and so, so many after me, I am sick, and life moves forward. I have no intention on sitting around and letting life go on without me.

Thus, where I find myself today. I haven’t been able to take our somewhat unruly dog out by myself until the last few days, and it has been so hot, I don’t like doing it any more than David or the boys. But today was different. It was warm, but not unbearably hot, and the breeze was enough to keep the gnats at bay. The kind of day that Nala, and I, love. So she laid on the ground in the shade, while I sat on the front step, for 45 minutes. I found myself noticing every detail of the day—the beautiful light blue of the sky, the puffy clouds floating overhead shape-shifting as they moved, hearing the rustle of the leaves of the trees, feeling the sun and wind on my face, smelling the air which was unusually unscented, and smiling and waving at everyone who passed by. With everything I noticed, I let the feeling of deep peace about the chaos in my life permeate my body, all the way to my soul. The deeper the peace felt, the more overwhelming the feeling of gratitude for all of it became. I am blessed, and I am so thankful for all that I am blessed with.

Every day brings new information, and more opportunities to express my gratitude to God for what I am given. Conversations with people I don’t expect to hear from, just to check on me. Surprise visits from friends I haven’t seen in 20 years. The amazing Care Team I have stumbled upon. Being surrounded by family. Not having horrible symptoms that I really could be experiencing.

And then there is you. My faith family. The loving, caring, supportive folks who pray for me and my family every day. Who bring food, and ask the questions, and express their fears, as well as their hopes. A church body who is allowing their pastor to work as she can, take the time to heal when she needs, and intentionally chooses to walk this journey with me. Words just do not express how grateful to you I am. The tears of gratitude continue to be shed each day.

And here’s the big thing: every time I offer God thanks and praise, the more peace I feel. I have zero clue what the future will be like, but I had zero clue about that before these NETs decided to rear their ugly heads. The truth is, none of us knows what the future will bring. And that is why I am not letting life move forward without me. It is why I choose to be grateful for each and every thing I am given, for each and every moment I am allowed to be here on this earth, to be wife and mother, daughter and sister, friend and pastor.

Thank you for who you are, and for how you shine God’s light and love into this crazy, chaotic, and very beautiful world!

God is good—all the time! All the time—God is good!

Always Peace,  Pastor Heidi

 

Pastoral Ponderings – June 2024

My Dearest Friends,

It has been a long week. One I know many of you have walked, because I have walked it with you. If there is anything that I have learned, it is that I am a wonderful cheerleader, and an awful patient!

I want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, for the food and flowers and plants, and words of love and encouragement. A huge thank you to Pastor Linda and Marcy for being in the ED with David and I, and for filling in the first Sunday. Thank you, Martha for keeping everything together, and for the God Squad, and everyone else for jumping in to help lead worship, and anything else that needs being done. I can be honest in saying that this is not a road I anticipated going down, ever. But I guess none of us does.

A week ago today, at this moment, I was being wheeled into the OR with more question marks on my chart than answers. But God placed me in the hands of the most wonderful physician, and her loving and compassionate team. I went in with stomach pains, thinking appendicitis, but found more. Once in surgery, Dr. Winter quickly assessed that it was not the appendix, but rather, my small intestine had been sucked into the colon, which resulted in them taking out 1/3 of my colon, along with what she called several “poop stones.” She did a colon resection  and took a biopsy of the tumors on my liver.

The poop stones, along with the spots on the liver, and some on my stomach lining, are called NETs, or Neuroendocrine Tumors. Mine is called Neuroendocrine Colon Cancer. My pathology report came back with the lowest grade, and what they call well-defined cells. That means it is the best of what you could hope for. The “good news” is that NETs have been found to be very treatable, and there are so many options in how to treat them.

I have to heal from this surgery before I can think about oncology and coming up with a treatment plan. David and I have decided to go to the University of Iowa, and Dr. Winter has referred me to Dr. Chitneni, who is here in the Quad Cities. She has a great rapport with her, and trusts her, so I am happy.

We have no idea what will happen, and that is what weighs heavy on my heart. I so want to be back among you, and look forward to being there soon, but I need to ask for your patience. Like I said, I am not a good patient, but I am practicing. I want to heal right, so that I don’t end up in a back slide. I love your texts and calls, and emails, and all the communication.

Please don’t be upset if you don’t hear back from me right away. It may be naptime, or that I have been on the phone all day already, and just need a break. I promise, I will get back to you. And please know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers, and I cannot begin to  share how loved I feel by all of you.

Thank you for being you. Thank you for caring for me and my family and thank you for caring for one another. I love you all so much and cannot wait to be back with you.

Always Peace,

Pastor Heidi

 

Pastoral Ponderings – May 2024

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” — Proverbs 3:9-10

Supporting a church, any church, is a community effort. Few people like to talk about giving, or tithing, to a church. More people leave over giving to a church than leave for political reasons. In fact, many people believe that a church should never ask for money.

As a community who has intentionally chosen to gather to worship God, to support one another, and to shine God’s light and love on a shadowed world, we are called to share our gifts with the community, and there are as many ways to share our gifts as there are people in the world.

Traditionally, when we discuss stewardship, people jump to giving money. That is wonderful, and we certainly need to offer money—because like it or not—there are bills and expenses that the church incurs every day. But offering our money is not the only way to give.

We can offer our talent of time. Believe it or not, not everyone has time, or at least a decent amount of time, to offer the church, for a variety of reasons. Many of our ministries require the time people can offer. Cleaning the kitchen, planning Anniversary parties, working with youth and children, teaching Faith Formation, decorating the Fellowship Hall, planning, cooking, serving, etc. for Share-A-Meal and Hope at the Brick House, serving on the Board, to name just a few.

These things would not happen without the support of all of your gifts. But again, there is another way to thank God by being a good steward, and that is through your physical donations. These include the meat and cheese for sandwiches, for diapers and backpacks, cookies and desserts, oil and gas for the mowers and snow blowers.

It is amazing how much is donated to Faith First Community Church in terms of non-monetary gifts!

Many years ago, we decided that we wanted a more accurate picture of how much was being donated to the various ministries of the church. We wanted to figure out what it actually cost for us to support our missions financially, in the event that, one day, we would have to add them to the budget because we couldn’t get donations.

So we asked people to turn in receipts for what they donated. If someone bought paper plates for the kitchen, they turned a receipt into Martha with their name and the words “In kind”.

The purpose for this is twofold. First, it gives us a more accurate picture on what is being given back to God. Second, when Martha gets these receipts, she records them so they show up on your giving statements, and you can claim them on your taxes, if you so choose.

This is what we are asking each of you to do. If you give something physical—that is an item or items rather than money—then please bring the receipt to Martha for her to record. It doesn’t matter how much or how little, we want to know what you have lovingly donated to this church community.

Just to let you know, for the first quarter of the year, In Kind giving totaled $687.74.

Always Peace,  Pastor Heidi

 

Pastor Ponderings – April 2024

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” — Isaiah 40:31

It is finally “official”, according to the State of Iowa. After what seemed way too long, we have finally been informed that our Articles of Incorporation for Faith First Community Church are in place. I am very excited, because now we can move forward. Actually, most of me is just plain relieved.

When we have to wait for something longer than we anticipated, things can be……. a little tense. We tend to get more and more irritated as time moves on, with the situation, as well as with one another.

I wonder if that is what is happening with our world today. Jesus left this earth, promising one day to return and make everything right again. But we are still waiting. And some of us are getting a little impatient. So much, in fact, that they are leaving the faith altogether.

But we are promised that Jesus will, in fact, one day return. We do not know when, but he will. While we wait, we are to continue to move forward, caring for those who cannot care for themselves, and work toward God’s Realm here on earth. And as you already know, that can take way longer than we would like, and it can take more strength and patience that we think we have.

But through Christ, and in God, ALL THINGS are possible. Even patience while we wait for Jesus to return.

Just because we are now seen as an “official” church, it doesn’t mean everything is how we want it to be. We still have so much to do. And like I said before, we need everyone’s help.

Some of the things will be more fun than others, but everything needs to be done. For now, we are working on prioritizing what needs done first.

Martha is building our new website, as well as working to get our emails set up. She is also working to get the bank accounts opened. (Until we let you know otherwise, please continue to write your checks to Faith UCC.)

Glenn will begin the tedious job of going through the First Christian history files (along with a volunteer or three!), and we need someone to do the same for Faith UCC. If you are willing to help with either of these things, please let me know as soon as possible, and we can figure out how we are going to get started on that!

I am very grateful to everyone for their patience, and for their excitement! There is much to do, and yet, we have come so far! Thank you!

Always Peace,  Pastor Heidi

 

Pastoral Ponderings – March 2024

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. — Joshua 1:9

Last month I reported that our Merger Committee met for the last time. On January 25, we held our combined Annual Meetings, and we officially elected our first Board for Faith First Community Church! Your Board consists of: Martha Watters—President; Jan Hannel—Secretary; Doug Cox—Director; Jill Pepper—Director;  and Jim Sullivan—Director. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact any one of these faithful people.

I also reported that our Article of Incorporation papers had been turned into the State of Iowa for review and approval. Unfortunately, today, I received another paper that needed to be signed and sent in. I will let you know as soon as I hear anything! SO, we are still waiting for this to happen.

We continue to move forward with whatever we can, however!

Starting the week of March 3, we will have put together an official Faith First Membership count. It has taken us a while because we still have people we want to send information to, but aren’t members, so that is a different category. We also have those who are members but are not able to participate with activities due to health or distance. Of course we have our homebound. Thank you for your patience as we continue to get all of our ducks in a row!

Before we celebrate our opening of Faith First Community Church, I feel that we need to recognize that First Christian Church turns 185 years young this year, and Faith United Church of Christ turns 60. These are wonderful milestones and I don’t want us to overlook them!

While we don’t have everything planned for that celebration, we are planning a Trivia Night to help fund it! Please join us on April 6 for a night of fun! We will have more details out next week. Please watch for this information.

We are headlong into the season of Lent. Please see the schedule for Wednesday evenings, as well as Sunday mornings on page one!

I am so very grateful for everything each one of you does for this Body of Christ. We are blessed to have you, and have one another, to journey through life with.

Always Peace,  Pastor Heidi

 

Pastoral Ponderings – February 2024

But the Lord says, “Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already—you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.—Isaiah 43:18-19

Life continues to move forward, even when we don’t feel like we are ready. Raising our children so that as they grow, they move on with their lives; ending relationships that weren’t meant to be; losing someone we loved; all of these are bittersweet.

The Merger Committee met last night for, what we believe, is the last time as this Committee. This group of 9 faithful people gathered to work through some of the most difficult discussions around this merger, and I am so proud of all of the hard work they put into these meetings and discussions. If you ever wonder how much these two-already/but not yet– churches are loved, these 9 people prove it. And not only do they love these churches, they absolutely love God and have come to love one another. These relationships are the purpose of our merging. The stronger our bonds, the harder we will work together to follow God’s path.

While their time is coming to an end, the next group of people (yet to be named!) will pick up the mantle and move forward. This will be our Board—the governing body of Faith First Community Church. The Board will be made up of 5 people (President/Secretary/+ 3), and will be nominated and elected at our Annual Meeting on January 28 following worship and our potluck.

The Board has some very big shoes to fill, but I know that whoever sits on this board, will do so because they love God, love this new church, and look forward to growing new relationships.

The Board will be responsible for negotiating the Letter of Call with Pastor Heidi, planning Anniversary Celebrations for Faith UCC (60 years!) and First Christian (185 years!); a hard opening (community) celebration for Faith First Community Church; signs and other ways to get our name into the community; policies (Safe Church/building use/etc.); to name a few.

But these things will not lie on the shoulders of the Board alone. The Board will seek people to help. If you want to be hands on in the creation of what Faith First Community Church will look like and be, here is your opportunity! If you find yourself drawn to any of the areas mentioned above, OR you believe there is an area that needs to be made aware of, please let me know! You do NOT have to be an artist (although we do need at least one of those!), or know about architecture, or be able to lift or climb ladders to be a part of this growing process. In the same way that God called those who didn’t seem to naturally fit for the position, we are calling on you for your ideas and God-given gifts and talents.

So whether you like to plan parties; have great marketing ideas; know about construction; or have a passion for writing policies and procedures, your talents are needed!

We will have more discussion on this at our Annual Meeting following worship and the potluck on Sunday, January 28.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, thoughts, or ideas, please feel free to contact myself, or anyone on the Merger Committee. (Don Walton, Cheryl Leamer, Jan Hannel, Glenn Perreault, Sharon Perreault, Doug Cox, Amy Dowell, Mark Christy, or Jill Pepper.)

OH! I almost forgot! The Article of Incorporation papers have been signed and are turned into the lawyer! Now we wait for the State of Iowa. Once those come back—we become “OFFICIAL!”

Always Peace,
Pastor Heidi

Pastoral Ponderings – January 2024

“In the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.”

As we begin a new year, we also begin a new chapter in the lives of two churches. 2024 marks the 60th Anniversary of Faith United Church of Christ, and the 185th

Anniversary of First Christian Church. These are huge milestones in the life of a church. Each has deep rooted traditions—both in their respective denominations, as well as their individual congregations. Both have been a beacon of light to their communities.

While they are everything they have needed to be individually, together they will be stronger. Together, these churches will shine brighter, love more, and will be better able to serve God and their community.

We are always sad when one era ends, but the end of an era brings new life, and our God is in the business of New Life, especially when and where we least expect it.

Two years ago, neither Faith nor First knew where the future would lead us. We were still dealing with a global pandemic, so our sights were not on creating a new church. But two years later, here we are, two separate churches from two different denominations growing into one church who will hold roots in both denominations. Two beacons becoming one.

As a pastor, this wasn’t even on my radar—for any time in my life. But then again, very little of what I have done has been what I pictured or expected. And here’s the surprise—every single moment has been better than anything I could have planned on my own. God’s plans for our lives, if we remain open to them, are amazing and wonderful, albeit really hard at times.

Dissolving these two loving congregations will be difficult. We are each losing a part of our history, or story, our heart. But, just as God has promised, the new life that springs forth from the old will be even better than we can begin to imagine!

Faith First Community Church is a blessing, and it is a result of everyone’s hard, faithful, and holy work. After the first of the year, we will hold a vigil of dissolution, allowing us space to mourn and grieve. Then, we will hold a celebration of the beginning of Faith First Community Church. Please watch for details after the first of the year. (And if you are interested in helping plan either of those events, I would be very grateful! Just let me know.)

For now, pray for our new church; pray for us, her people; and pray for the community in which she is part.

Soon we will call ourselves by our new name, and yes, I am a little nervous. But even more than that, I am very excited, and beyond grateful. Thank you to everyone for all you have done so far. We have a long way to go, but we are taking one step at a time, and before we know it, God’s new creation will be celebrating milestones of her own!

Happy New Year!

Always Peace,
Pastor Heidi