An e-PISTLE from the i-PASTOR
Rev. Mary Gene Boteler, Interim Pastor

August 11, 2016

Dear MWPC Family and Friends,
 
Rick is reading The Boys in the Boat, the story of nine Americans and their quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.  It is an apt read for this week.  The author describes the challenge of the sport of rowing:  "Physiologists have calculated that rowing a 2,000 meter race, the Olympic standard, takes the same physiological toll as playing two basketball games back-to-back.  And it exacts that toll in about six minutes."
 
The bottom line:  rowing is hard work!  We don't need to be told that at MWPC, do we?  We have been rowing hard for almost two years.  In fact, some have gotten so tired or discouraged that they have moved to the sidelines.  At times that exhaustion has caused us to drop one oar, leaving the boat endlessly moving in a circle.  Grief and loss--of people and identity--can affect congregations in that way.  We can rejoice in the goodness of God and the resiliency of spirit that has allowed us to endure in this difficult season.
 
BUT, in these summer months, many of us have experienced a palpable change.  This vessel that we love has felt less vulnerable.  The rowing has gotten less tedious and tiring-and more joyful.  It is as if we have finally lifted a sail and let the wind of the Spirit lighten the load.  We are looking forward instead of backwards-a necessary component in wise navigation.  We are less focused on "how many" and more focused on ways we might impact this community. 
 
After years of stagnant growth financially, there is a group that is jazzed about building a financial base that will support the ministry of this congregation in the years ahead.  They are excited about the "s" word -- stewardship!  That is a sure sign that we are coming through the fog of the last few years and are discerning the exciting future to which God is calling us.  Believe me: the saints are rejoicing!
 
If you stepped away during the hard years, I understand.  We don't all get in the boat with the same strength.  People's lives can be so challenging that piling on organizational angst is just too much.  Yes, we all understand.  However, now is a time to come back.  We need you-your energy and your ideas.  You need us-our renewed sense of our identity and our commitment, with God's help, to make a difference in the community.
 
The word on the street (or, at least in the pew) is that our last pastoral search took two years.  I decided to do a little fact checking on that conventional wisdom.  The record shows that the PNC for LP Jones was elected Feb 2005 and they presented the candidate September 2006.  The PNC for that search also took on the role of writing the mission study.  By that measure, we are already seven months into the process and, as diligent as this committee has been, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a final report in the spring.
 
YIKES!  I feel like it is 5 minutes before the dinner guests arrive, and I still have dishes in the sink and floors to be vacuumed.  We have a good bit of work to do in order to get things in optimum shape for a new pastor.  If we want the person to "hit the ground running" we need to be sure that systems and programs are in place and that the boat has a full complement of enthusiastic and energized rowers.  It is time to divide and conquer-with the hope that we will have a few minutes to sit on the sofa and rest before the doorbell rings.
 
The PNC has work to do and the rest of us have work that we need to do, under the leadership of the session.  One of our Olympic teams, seconds before they jumped in the water, joined hands and the captain confidently declared, "We can do this!"  Friends I believe we can do this.  In fact, I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we will do it.
 
With renewed enthusiasm,
Mary Gene Boteler
Interim Pastor