My first day on the job

We're off to a busy start so it's taken me a while to post an update!

I wanted to tell everybody a little about my first real day on the job.  It was a bit of a strange start. 
My first Sunday at 2nd Congregational consisted of a worship service, a picnic and 2 funerals.

I hear there are churches where the pastors are treated with great reverence and expected to spend all of there time studying and praying.  I've heard this, but I think it's a myth...  My day started when I showed up two hours early to help set up chairs with the deacons.  After we finished I made the long 3 minute walk back to the funeral home to get ready.  We still managed to arrive at worship 5 minutes late (we were still on Christ Central Time) but felt very welcomed at church.  Afterwords, there was a picnic lunch on the front lawn of the church to have a time for fellowship and to welcome us.  We had a great time, met lots of people and ate lots of food.  There was even a cake made for us by one member.

After a few hours I ran home and changed to go observe a funeral downstairs.  It was a funeral for a non-believer in the community which Bill had offered me the "opportunity" to officiate.  But I thought I'd rather wait till my 2nd week to start doing funerals for people I never met and didn't know anything about.  Instead I came to observe Bill and see how he did these types of services.  At the last minute someone asked for the opportunity to get up and say a few words about the deceased.  When he did so he proceeded to tell us all that the dearly departed man was likely in heaven right now telling God this was all a bunch of "f-ing b.s."  Not exactly what I expected.

From there I accompanied Bill to a much sadder occasion.  It was a memorial service for the child of the former Assistant Pastor of 2nd Congregational (now the senior pastor of a church in the area).  Their son was born recently and lived only a few short moments before going home to be with the Lord.  It was sad but it was also encouraging to see the strength of the faith of this couple and to see the love that both churches showed to them.

It was an odd way to start but I think there's a real analogy in it as well.  Most of the people of New England are headed straight to death, ready to give God the middle finger while so many churches struggle to survive past spiritual infancy.  We hope God is beginning to change this and we see the beginnings of that now.  Please pray that he will continue to do so and that we'll be used by Him to accomplish this.