Getting to know the new pastor …

We got a new preacher a few weeks ago. For a year, our church family circled the wagons and managed without a regular pastor. As Presbyterians, we do everything “decently and in order,” so we had to form a committee which formed a committee which met with the Presbytery committee to look for a new minister. They sent out questionnaires to our members, to other churches in the area, and to possible candidates around the country.

Just as plans were beginning to gel, Coronavirus struck. There would be no going in a group to an unsuspecting church, pretending to be “visiting” on Sunday morning and then having a nice meal with the minister (candidate) and family in a nearby town where the committee could get a “feel” for him or her. Nope, there would be no traveling, sneaking into the service, getting “a look” at the kids. Like the rest of our world, our committee had to improvise.

While the rest of the congregation was plowing along, volunteering to do the liturgy (make the announcements and read the scriptures), preaching those sermons we, regular members, have been harboring for years, singing solos, and putting out weekly videos of our worship, the committee was working. They used Zoom to meet with candidates in faraway towns. They Googled possible candidates, did background searches, and watched the candidates lead worship in their own churches, which were also videoing on YouTube.

We got a jewel. He is knowledgeable, kind, and can sing like a bird. Actually, he sings tenor … and he and his wife joined the choir for practice and for the anthem last Sunday. For a small church, to add two good choir members in one Sunday is a visit from the angels. He wears a wonderful assortment of bow ties and smiles a lot. Although off the podium, you can’t see his face because of his mask, his eyes exude the pastoral love we’ve been searching for this last year. He follows a muchloved pastor who, too, loved us … well.

I’m old. I know that, and I have moved into the “elderly” designation. I didn’t realize how old until the new preacher came by the house for a visit. My friend, who has been recovering from some bad back problems, and I have been members of the church choir for year. We have both have missed face-to-face worship during this period of quarantine. So, when the preacher called to say he’d like to come over, I dusted off the Bible and got out the Concordance so as to give a good impression.

We had a wonderful visit. Sitting six to eight feet from each other, not wearing masks, we got to know this “kid.” It wasn’t until he started to tell his story that I realized he is the same age as my oldest child. How did he in such a short time get a college degree, work as director of a children’s home, go to seminary, and pastor in several churches? He and his wife have two grown kids and a daughter-in-law.

And then I realized, my daughter isn’t a kid, either. She has two almost grown children, taught school for eleven years, runs her own computer business, and loves me. My other daughter who is very near his age has been an architectural engineer for over fifteen years, is raising two wonderful kids, and loves me, too. I just hope that the “elderly” people, with whom they come in contact in their lives, enjoy them as much as I plan to enjoy our new minister.