The Williston-West Navigator

The Lenten season is traditionally a time of repentance. Repentance is a loaded word which carries a lot of religious baggage regarding the end of time. We have all seen the cartoons with the old man in a robe carrying a sign that says "Repent for the end is near!"

What does it mean to repent? Repent is the English translation of the Greek word metanoia which means to change one’s mind about someone or something. So, to repent is not something that is done to us but something we consciously choose to do. The Lenten season is that time set aside in the liturgical year to look inward to identify issues that are getting in our way of a relationship with God.

The old cartoon leaves one with a rather frightening sense of a God who threatens us with dreadful things if we don’t do what God says. I see this theological issue more in the sense of making changes in our lives that are preventing us from knowing the peace that only comes with a relationship with the Almighty. Life is much too short to squander our precious time and indeed, like the old man says, "The end is near."

What are the changes you need to make to feel right with God? Many might have suggestions for you, but I don’t. Only you can answer that question for yourself, like only I can answer the question for myself. The church is here to reflect on scripture, to provide the context for worship, and to bring the community together that we may grow in faith.

One of the issues of life that I try to keep on my front burner is to remain grateful for the gift of life. A life lived in gratitude is a life whose doors are open to countless blessings that otherwise would slide by without our ever knowing how close we may have been to life-changing miracles that could have blessed us beyond anything we could even imagine.

I have always been a runner, or should I say I have kept at it for much of my adult life. It is something I do for myself with the companionship of a good dog. Over twenty years I have run thousands of miles on roads and trails from Hawaii to Palestine. The most well-worn trail for me has been Back Cove, which I have run hundreds of times. A few years ago when I was running the cove in winter I could see a person stopped ahead of me. Somehow I knew she was going to stop me, and I didn’t want to be stopped. I planned my way of getting by, but this woman was adamant. So I stopped, and she pointed out to me, five feet away perched on a piece of granite, the most beautiful Snowy owl one could ever want to see. What a blessing it was and now, how differently I look at being stopped in the middle of a good run. I will never forget that experience and how close I came to missing the whole thing!

Lent can be like that for us - a time where we are stopped in the middle of the pace of life to make the changes we need to make. For me, to remain consciously grateful is the key to finding God and feeling empowered to get rid of the baggage that prevents me from being the person God intends for me to be.

What are you working on this Lent?

Many of you have asked questions regarding the pastoral search and why an interim minister is necessary. I hope this provides you with the answers you are looking for. As always if you have concerns, please feel free to give me a call.

The time between settled pastors presents unique challenges and opportunities for the local church. During this period there is a need for strong pastoral leadership to maintain a healthy congregational life; there is also a need for the church to develop short and long- term goals. The interim period offers a prime time for re-energizing the church. A congregation must prepare itself to be ready to select and work with a new pastor, and the success of the next settled pastorate is directly affected by the way in which the members of the congregation move through the interim time. Churches that take advantage of this time for the renewal have found that the church is stronger and healthier as a result.

An intentional interim pastor is an ordained clergyperson with specialized training and skills who provides pastoral leadership during this period of rediscovery and adjustment to change. The interim pastor helps the congregation focus on issues of identity and mission as it moves through the process of searching for and calling a new leader.

Research with many congregations has indicated that predictable dynamics happen during times of leadership transition. Intentional interim ministers have been trained to provide guidance as the church addresses five basic areas or developmental tasks:

--Understanding the History of the Congregation

--Discovering the Congregation’s Special Identity

--Dealing with Shifts of Leadership in Times of Transition

--Strengthening the church’s ties with the Association, the Maine Conference, and the UCC

--Preparing for New Pastoral Leadership

The Interim Pastor brings skills and perspectives to help a congregation work through all of these tasks in creative and positive ways. The Interim Pastor is not solely responsible for the accomplishment of any of these tasks, but rather works as a partner with a congregation throughout the process. Therefore the congregation’s commitment to engage in this process is essential to its effectiveness.

Because of the unique history of each congregation (and its unique relationships with previous pastors), the length of the interim ministry period varies greatly from congregation to congregation. Factors that influence the length of the interim period include the depth of the congregational self-study, the length of the previous pastorate, circumstances of prior clergy departures, changing congregational dynamics, or changing demographics.

When you are developing an interim covenant/contract, the salary and benefits offered the interim pastor should be consistent with current compensation guidelines for settled pastors, including annuity, health, dental, disability insurance, and continuing education. The package ideally should be comparable to what the church expects to pay its next settled pastor and in any case no less than that which was offered to the previous pastor.

Pastors who respond to God’s call to interim ministry face difficult financial challenges. The length of their tenure is uncertain, and the availability of new interim positions is not always guaranteed. Interim pastors sometimes experience gaps of several months between positions. As church leaders enter into negotiations with an interim pastor candidate, it is important to recognize the realities of their work.

As I often say to my grandkids when they visit, "You back again?"

On Saturday, April 8, at 7:30 PM, we are fortunate to have "Two Old Friends" back again for their third annual show at Williston West Church!

These two musicians - Mac McHale and Emery Hutchins - sing songs from Ireland, the mountains and the sea. Mac & Hutch, as they are affectionately known, were the original founders of Northeast Winds and traveled and recorded with The Winds for nearly 15 years. For the last 17 years Mac has headed up a very successful group, Mac McHale & the Old-Time Radio Gang. Hutch has been a very important part of the Angel Band, a world famous Irish music group.

It is great to have performers who not only excel at their craft, but are excited to play in our Fellowship Hall. When I spoke with Mac a few months after the last concert, he said he hoped we plan to do it again, because they both enjoyed playing for such an enthusiastic audience. While their first concert for us had a small audience, the appreciation level was very high.. The second concert more than doubled the crowd, and now we all anticipate their return.

Mac plays the guitar, mandolins and banjo, while Hutch plays banjo, guitar, concertina and bodhran. Both men sing vocals. Those of us fortunate enough to spend time with these two story-tellers before and after the concert can assure you they are worth spending time with, even if it was just over a cup of coffee. They are lively, interesting...and talkative! They bring a lifetime of music with them, from their own compositions to some very old-time traditional country music.

Tickets for this event are $10.00. Along with the opportunity to have a night of great music, you will also be supporting Williston-West, since all profits will go to the church (after paying the band, of course!). Imagine: we are not just saying, "Please donate some more money!"...No, we are saying, "Come join us for a great evening of fun and music...and support our church in the process!" Not bad, eh?

Mac and Hutch are excited to return to Williston-West and I hope you will join us to give them a grand reception this time. Hope to see you there! To reserve your tickets, contact the Church office.

I want to introduce myself to the congregation as the new Garden and Flower Chairperson. After Beth Campbell’s overview and tutorial, and Eric and Penney’s guidance, I am really enthusiastic about the coming year for this committee! I’d like to share with you all this year’s projects, how you can participate in them, and what our specific needs are right now.

First, the Easter Season begins with a Vigil on Saturday April 15^th. This is a particularly important time for the church community to get involved by ordering lilies for the altar (and to bring home after the service). Our budget has been reduced by 20% this year, so in order to make Easter truly spectacular, we will need the support of as many of you as possible. Since the committee cannot afford to buy many extra plants in addition to what you order, we hope to have lots of orders back by April 2. (Please see attached order form in this month’s newsletter.) As Easter ushers in spring, we will begin to plan the Spring Clean-Up of the grounds and will try to lure as many of you as we can to the event by providing coffee and bagels for anyone looking to get outside after a long, cold winter!

In the fall, we will need to put the gardens to bed, and prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Again, we hope to have a strong turnout for Fall Clean-up and look forward to decorating the altar with a harvest theme, which will transform into Christmas decorations about the time of the Fair. Ordering poinsettias and wreaths will be our focus, as well as a hat and mitten tree to decorate and ultimately donate to kids in need in our community.

Finally, I would like to remind everyone that you can make a huge difference in the celebration of each Sunday service by signing up to bring flowers to celebrate birthdays, commemorate loved-ones, congratulate achievements or "just because." We need your participation, and if you forget to sign up but have flowers to bring, please feel free to let any member of the committee know and we will be happy to place them on the altar for you! (Committee members are: Priscilla Armstrong, Beth Campbell, Jennie Currier, Judy Malette, Sherry Thomas and Mary Beyer.)

Thanks in advance for supporting your church through the Garden and Flower Committee, and please feel free to contact me if you have ideas or talents to contribute (marytbeyer@maine.rr.com)!

Sarah trudged through the snow toward the office and realized that she had been thinking about the church service the Sunday before. The wind whipped from between the tall, dark buildings like mini, icy razors against her cheeks and she wished she had worn her woolen scarf with the stripes and heavy knitting. Her thoughts returned to the service as she picked her way through the people hurrying toward their own stark offices. It had not been planned that the service would be particularly inspiring - anymore than usual. The music was much the same as it had always been - solid, clear, and soulful. The message was strong and the preacher had delivered it with vigor. The congregation was open and friendly and she enjoyed their company, even if she had never been especially close to any particular person there.

No, she was absolutely sure that everything around her had been no different than any other Sunday. She always arrived about ten minutes early, sat in the last row all the way to the right side of the church, and opened the bible there in the pew. Scouring the pages for the Jesus that would speak directly to her, she would sit with her head buried in the scripture that she did not understand and did not feel really held truth for her. She would politely close the pages when the service started and would half-heartedly participate. She knew down deep that it was half-hearted because she did not expect that anything within her would change and she did not want to give up control of her inner being - even to God. She figured that if God was what the Bible said, she would not really have a choice when she had the epiphany that seemed to have affected the rest of the congregation but which had eluded her for the three months that she had been showing up.

No, everything around her had been the same. She was somewhat down and almost did not leave her house that Sunday, but decided that she should get out if only for church that morning. Just before the service began, she realized that she was glad to be there amongst the people that had always seemed to be happy to see her. She suddenly felt that she should say a little prayer. She said, "God, I am happy to be here in your house today and I hope that you will be here with me." It was simple and from her heart. She felt warm in her very center and felt like singing. The first hymn started and she found that she was singing louder than usual. The sun shone through the stained glass and it was more beautiful than it had ever been. She felt ….joyful…could not help but smile! The preacher was ten minutes into the sermon and she realized that it made sense to her. A recurrent theme was speaking to her soul. Unconditional Love. She felt it.

The door to her office was cold through her wet, snowy glove. She forcefully pulled it against the gust of wind that threatened to rip if from her hand and made her way to the top floor of the grey building. She thought, "How could I ever deny God again?"

She got to her office and began to pull off the wet wool. Several co-workers were laughing outside the door and she could overhear them: "Oh! Don’t be such a Bible-banger!" Another voice, "I’m not, I’m just saying, there’s got to be something else out there!" And a third, "Oh, you know-.Dog is my co-pilot!" Sarah laughed out loud at that - the bumper sticker had always tickled her. She thought that it was a funny play on words but, even though she laughed, she was surprised that this time she had felt embarrassed to have done so.

Later, she had not taken lunch and her co-workers taunted her, saying, "Work is your religion! You must even pray to a corporate God!" Peals of laughter spread over the group. She smiled and said "No, but I know where my bread is buttered! Why pray to God when payday is on Friday?" They laughed and walked toward the break room with their lunches in tow and chiding each other all the way down the hall. Sarah felt her face get hot as they left and she stared at her computer screen numbly. She shook her head and refocused herself on the spreadsheet in front of her.

When Sarah pulled into her driveway that evening, she saw two clean cut young men in pressed, black slacks and heavy coats on her doorstep looking expectedly at the closed door. She cursed under her breath, realizing that they were leaving religious materials in her screen door. They turned and saw her pull in before she could pretend not to see them there. As she maneuvered between the car door and the garage wall with her briefcase, purse, gym bag, and keys, she met their gaze with dread. Up on the porch, the young men introduced themselves and asked her if she knew the saving grace of The Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As she hurried to insert her key into the door, she shook her head and said, "I’m really not interested in talking right now." They politely pressed on and indicated that, being so cold outside, would she mind if they spoke with her for just a few minutes inside, or at the very least, read their pamphlets. She made it into her foyer, purposefully dropped all of her belongings, spun around, and looked at them. She was so aggravated by the situation she raised her voice higher than she usually would and emphatically said "Your Lord and Savior may be a "saving grace", but I’ve got everything I need!" She stepped back and closed the door firmly, if not a little too hard.

Suddenly, the phone rang - just three times - then stopped without registering a name on the caller ID.

She felt sick to her stomach and collapsed against the closed door. She realized that for all of the time that she thought about God for the last few months, for all that she thought she understood about the sermon on Sunday, and for all of the joy she had felt since that day, she spent the entire day denying her experience to everyone. Most painfully of all, she had denied her experience to herself.

The other day my two children were trying to persuade me to buy them something. I cannot recall what exactly it was, but it was ridiculously expensive and not beneficial to their enrichment. One of their arguments in favor of the purchase was, "All of our friends have it."

Sorry to say, that well-worn cliché came to my mind. The one you hated to hear from your parents and swore you would never use with your own children.

"If all of your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you jump too?"

My son, who has a quick and analytical mind, replied, "I wouldn’t worry about jumping off a cliff. You are my bungee cord."

We all had a chuckle about my becoming ElastiGirl from the Incredibles. The children did agree that they wouldn’t jump off a cliff without a bungee cord. But they still wanted the expensive toy.

Later, I was struck by my son’s trust that I would bring him out of danger. I love the bungee cord image, because I would let him go astray a bit so he would experience the fall out (pun intended) of unwise choices. He could even scrape bottom. Then he could easily bounce back by grabbing my outstretched hand.

But it is God’s hand that will always be there for my son, not mine. Indeed, God will let us go astray. We will forget that we are His children. We will forget that we are connected to every brother and sister – those who are hungry, impoverished or oppressed. We will take pride in our new things, like the object that inspired my children’s desires. We will go to church for the ritual of it, not the message.

In short, we will put trivial things above the most important of all ---love. The greatest love of all is God’s. No matter how far we wander or how low we drop, our connection to Him is still strong. We need only touch Him and we will spring out of our misery.

And so my children will remain deprived of that toy, but they have the greatest treasure of all – an eternal, unconditional love that will lift them out of darkness. Call it the bungee cord lifetime guaranteed by the divine.

Dear Friends of Williston-West:

I welcome the opportunity of taking the reins from Rebecca Gratwick as your new treasurer. Thanks to Rebecca’s diligence and dedication, your church is on steady financial ground and I pledge to remain faithful to the fiscal duties that are the primary responsibilities of this position. I plan to communicate through this newsletter and in Sunday announcements periodic "snapshots" of our financial standing. As a church community, we must all understand the economic situation that we are experiencing currently and how our actions can positively impact not only our ability to continue using our beautiful church as a place of worship but also our ability to reach out in missions work to our human family at large.

As you know from previous messages from the Board of Trustees and Stewardship committees, we are facing a significant financial challenge this year. Our pledges to date total about $90,000 and our budget expenses this year are $110,000. Last year, our pledges totaled $100,000 so we are beginning this year at a deficit of at least $15 - $20,000. You may ask - how can we be on steady financial ground when we are starting the year seemingly so far behind? It is early in the year right now and we still have time to make up our deficit. I am confident that we will all rise to the occasion and support our church in the very best ways that each of us can. If you are able to increase your pledge for this year, you can contact any steward, trustee, Eric or Penney. You can even fill in the box below and mail it to the church . If you haven’t officially pledged yet, now is your chance !!! Let’s see if we can erase this deficit before we have to tap into the endowment.

Speaking of tapping into our endowment - I was reminded a few weeks ago that Williston-West has traditionally been very disciplined in its management of the endowment fund. We should be reluctant to begin a pattern of relying on dipping into our long-term assets in order to meet immediate operating needs of the church. It is almost like taking a loan from retirement savings to pay the oil and electric bills. Let’s work together to secure our beautiful worship home for our future and for our children.

Remember: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:21.

Finally, a big THANK YOU to all of you who have pledged already for 2006 and to those of you who have increased your pledges.

The Lenten Program schedule is as follows:

Thursday, March 16, 2006, 7:00 -8:30pm:

Thursday, March 23, 2006, 7:00 - 8:30 pm:

Thursday, March 30, 2006, 7:00 - 8:30 pm:

Thursday, April 6, 2006, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

We hope that you will avail yourself of this opportunity to deepen your own Lenten experience with understanding, community, and reflection!