Jess: So I just read a really depressing article about how a company called Wedlock has created "divorce insurance" offers to give you money for expenses if you and your spouse decide to get divorced. Although I have many friends whose parents have divorced and am the product of a broken marriage myself, I think that this is so completely ridiculous. Why and how has our society moved so far from the sanctity of marriage? We're so concerned about who can marry whom, when they can get married, how they can get married, etc, that we have completely lost our view of what marriage is meant to be.
I know Wes and I have been married for less than a year, but we entered into marriage as a lifetime commitment, not as just another relationship. Marriage is not the same as dating someone--marriage is saying that you are willing to be with the same person for the rest of your life, even when times get tough. If you are not willing to share your life with someone, to overcome the temptation that other people will provide, to commit (if you want) to having and raising children with that person, growing old with them, etc., then marriage is not for you. There are many people today that do not marry for whatever reason, and I think this is a perfectly good solution...some people simply do not want to get married. Times have changed, and this is an option not previously available.
That said, I believe that divorce is a possible solution to some marriage problems. I think that there are definitely some situations when people should not be married: abusive households being just one example. There are also some people who simply were never meant to be married in the first place, made a mistake, etc. But divorce should not be the solution to every problem in every marriage. This is how we have such a high divorce rate in the United States, where people believe that divorce is as simple as breaking up. It is also why people get divorced, remarried, divorced, and remarried yet again, which is a major factor in the divorce rate. People who enter marriage with the right mindset to begin with may in fact get divorced, but they are not the ones who cause this statistic to skyrocket.
Alright, I'm getting off my soapbox. I was just so extremely disappointed by this new development that I had to put my thoughts out there. I hope no one is upset by this- I just wanted to share my views.
Wes: My best friend and brother, Tomas, was the best man at our wedding. In his speech at our wedding, Tomas said that he knew that Jess and I would last for "several years." We've joked about this ever since January, that he, at our wedding reception, decided that we would only be married for "several years." But the truth is, Tomas has told us multiple times that he knows that we'll be one of the ones that last.
Thinking about it, a lot of my friends are getting/have gotten married of late. I cannot think of any of them who are not the type of couple that will last. Chris and Melendy. Amanda and Jeremy. Jon and Lauren. Justin and Sarah. Andrew and Brandy. I know that we are a small group of couples in the midst of a large world full of them, but I am proud to say that I firmly believe that God has blessed me in letting me be a part of a fellowship of believers that are all "ones that will last." We're like a bunch of little puzzles with only two pieces each. It's easy to see we fit with one another, and there's no use trying to match us with any other piece (the pieces signify people for those of you who could not follow the metaphor. Sorry. I've been watching big bang theory and have gotten used to people explaining jokes and comparisons to Sheldon).
I am a firm believer that God made us to be creatures of company. We were created to be around others. I am blessed to have Jess, someone with whom I can share every aspect of my life. I do not hold that everyone is made to enjoy the same type of relationship that I have with Jess, but I do hold that all of us are made to be in fellowship and be in community.
On a very different note, Jess and I bought a pack of the Ghirardelli peppermint and dark chocolate squares the other day, and they are delicious.
That is all for now. Thus ends the reading. You stay classy, World Wide Web!
-Wes and Jess
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Mommy!
Jess: This weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Rejoice (my home church) Women’s Retreat in New York. It was great to be able to see some of the women I’ve known for so long, and I really appreciated the chance to spend time with them as an adult. It was an amazingly uplifting experience, and I hope to get the chance to go again in the future. Not only did I have a great time hearing about some powerful, influential women in the Bible, but I was spiritually renewed, as well. Plus, all the women who have known me since I was a kid gave me wonderful support as I pursue my call to ministry. I was really impressed at their ability to treat me like an adult. I know it’s tough to do that when you’ve known someone since they were a kid. It was definitely something I needed, since I am at a pretty interesting point of my journey.
Although the spiritual side of the retreat was absolutely fantastic, it was also a great time to see my mommy. We haven’t really had a lot of time to just hang out since I started college, so I really enjoyed having a couple of days to just talk with her about our lives. It reminded me that actually seeing people is so important and makes such a difference. Sometimes I just need a hug from my mom, and it was nice to get a few extra this weekend to last me through till Christmas. Despite the lack of sleep throughout the weekend, the laughter and stories were fantastic!
Well, that was the big highlight of my life this last week. Now I have to rewrite my sermon for Sunday (Wes decided he’s working too hard :-P) because I realized that I wasn’t going to preach the message God wants me to. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to say, but I know I wasn’t going in the right direction. And I think Wes survived the weekend pretty well without me; he even managed to clean the house! It was great to come home and not have to worry about that. Everyone who has ever been on a retreat knows that the return to “real life” is a pretty difficult one. Between the eight hour drive and not having to cook, clean or do laundry when I got home, I think I had a pretty nice transition between retreat and life, and I’m ready to share my excitement with others!
Wes:
So, my friends, I've been really impacted by all of the suicides that have been happening throughout the nation. It is horrible that we as a church are not standing up and showing love to those who feel so alone that they feel the only way to escape the oppression is to kill themselves. I preached on this on Sunday, sharing with my congregations the story of one of the victims, Tyler Clementi, who was a student at Rutgers, not 45 minutes away from us. I was very impressed by both church's response to this. Everyone that came up to me afterward was very moved by it and wanted to know how we can better minister to the people around us who need to know that the church is a place of love and safety. I told them in my sermon something that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in one of his sermons: if we passively allow evils to happen, we are cooperating with that evil and we might as well be a participant in it (this is paraphrased). The churches said they didn't want to passively sit back and let it happen, so in the future, we will be having conversations about what we as a church can be doing. I am very impressed with them and their willingness to love, not judge, those who need it the most.
I didn't get to go to any special retreat this last weekend. Instead, I had to chill at the house by myself. I got loads of stuff done, though, and I battled against aliens on Halo:Reach. I also had time to think about one of my papers this semester. Two of my classes' grades are solely based on one paper (per each of course). For my class on Reinhold Niebuhr and MLK, I am seriously considering writing my paper on their work (mainly MLK's) that corresponds with the Theology of the Cross. I am excited about this, and I need to get to work on it because I don't want to end the semester with two enormous papers and no time to do either. I have no idea what I'm doing for the other one, though...
I also started a Twitter account. Yeah, I know, lame. But I did it for a class. One of my professors assigned it as a way to work on writing more concisely. My name is pstrwes, and I've been using it to share different things that I have learned in my classes or while working on sermons, and I am hoping that it will lead to some neat bits of wisdom for myself and those that might stumble across the page.
Well, that's all that I can think of to write. So... that's all for now!
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
News, News, and More News. Also Some Random Ramblings by Wes.
Jess: So we've been terribly bad at updating our blog, and this is clearly an important time in our lives. I'll let Wes tell you the best news of all, and I'll do a little updating on how things are going in general.
We've finally gotten what I would call "settled" into the parsonage, most of the dirty things are now clean, most of the unpainted things are now painted, etc. We know where to shop, where to go to get local produce, how to avoid traffic jams, etc. I have to say that I'm so excited to have our own house (and it's wonderful to not have the actual responsibilities of owning a house). I have thoroughly enjoyed making the house home, and I think Wes has, as well. It's great to have some pride in the place we live, instead of just moving our furniture and other junk into it and knowing it's a temporary thing, as we have for the last 4 years of college and the time I took off/we were living at the seminary. It's truly home and we feel truly blessed to have it.
Speaking of home, we had the churches' potluck at our house this last weekend. Twenty-seven people crowded into our living room, and we had some of the greatest food. Everyone from the churches mixed well together and we had some pretty amazing conversations. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to do that, and hilarious to see people try to get in and out of the seating! We ended up passing all the desserts around because we weren't sure we would get everyone back in the seats after all of that eating!
In other news, I've been taking an online class through Luther Seminary on the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible). It's been a wonderful experience and not as scary as I originally thought it would be to go back to school after almost a year and a half off. I've learned a lot and it's great to be able to talk about my academic life with Wes again. It also means I'm going to be able to accelerate my time when I actually attend seminary full-time, so we'll hopefully be back in Texas working a year earlier than we originally anticipated. Not that I don't love NJ, but I sure love Texas...
Speaking of NJ, it's been raining cats and dogs for almost a week now, with no end in sight. We finally slipped below the 60 degree mark and had to turn the heat on. I'm so excited to see a fall and winter here, and I hope NJ doesn't disappoint. We only have so many northern falls/winters to go through before we head out of here!
Wes:
So there is good news, and there is bad news. As always, the bad news first, so we leave remembering the good (thank you, standardized testing, for teaching me how to write a cookie-cutter essay). The bad news: I've lost my rain coat, and that makes me sad.
The good news: I met with my candidacy committee--formerly known as the San Antonio District's District Committee on Ministry--a couple weeks ago and was unanimously voted to continue on in the candidacy process to become an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. Golf clap, please. AAAAAnnnnnddddd, they also voted to recommend me for local pastorship, which means that in the next few months, I will be able to administer the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism at Ellisdale and Crosswicks UMC (those are the churches that I am pastoring if you didn't know). That deserves a standing ovation. Not for me, not for the committee, but for God, and all of the wonderful things that God is doing in and through Jessica's and my ministry. We are truly blessed to be a part of it.
In other news, I have started my second semester at Princeton Seminary. I thought it was weird being a new student in the Spring term... It is even weirder being the only second-semester first-year student at the seminary! I feel the need to explain to everyone that I am not just a junior, but a second semester junior, which is why I know where all of my classrooms are and don't have that look of foreboding on my face as do the other wide-eyed first years. Not that I'm much better--I still don't know the names of all of the buildings, or where everything is. Pretty much, I know where my classrooms are, where the computer lab is, and where I eat.
My classes are going well so far. I am taking a speech class, which is kind of redundant after extensive theatre work and working in churches for so long, but it is a one hour required course, and so far it's been nice to have a class that I don't have to prepare for at all. My class on the Apostle Paul and Karl Barth is very interesting. We are going through the book of Romans, looking in-depth into Barth's commentary on the epistle, but also bringing in a lot of other commentaries and popular interpetations of the text. I'm not gonna lie, a lot of it goes over my head, but I love the book of Romans, so I'm not complaining. I am also taking a class on Rienhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King Jr., which is by far my favorite class. It is very practically driven and looks at the theological aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. Cool stuff. Finally, I am taking a history class that is all about early and Mideival Christian artifacts, very interesting, but most of the readings are absolutely BORING. And it's a three hour block class, so today I had to bite the side of my mouth to stay awake through the whole thing.
So, when you move past church stuff and school work, I don't have much going on in my life. I have re-acquainted myself with that glorious concoction known as coffee, and we have picked up our relationship right where we left off last semester. This leads to me being very awake in the morning, and slightly droopy around mid-day, but hey, it wakes me up, and it tastes oh-so good.
Well, my friends, that is all for now. Jess and I have promised each other and God (that's called a covenant) that we will write on here more often, so come back often and read up on the exciting roller-coaster ride that is our life. For now, though:
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
We've finally gotten what I would call "settled" into the parsonage, most of the dirty things are now clean, most of the unpainted things are now painted, etc. We know where to shop, where to go to get local produce, how to avoid traffic jams, etc. I have to say that I'm so excited to have our own house (and it's wonderful to not have the actual responsibilities of owning a house). I have thoroughly enjoyed making the house home, and I think Wes has, as well. It's great to have some pride in the place we live, instead of just moving our furniture and other junk into it and knowing it's a temporary thing, as we have for the last 4 years of college and the time I took off/we were living at the seminary. It's truly home and we feel truly blessed to have it.
Speaking of home, we had the churches' potluck at our house this last weekend. Twenty-seven people crowded into our living room, and we had some of the greatest food. Everyone from the churches mixed well together and we had some pretty amazing conversations. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to do that, and hilarious to see people try to get in and out of the seating! We ended up passing all the desserts around because we weren't sure we would get everyone back in the seats after all of that eating!
In other news, I've been taking an online class through Luther Seminary on the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Bible). It's been a wonderful experience and not as scary as I originally thought it would be to go back to school after almost a year and a half off. I've learned a lot and it's great to be able to talk about my academic life with Wes again. It also means I'm going to be able to accelerate my time when I actually attend seminary full-time, so we'll hopefully be back in Texas working a year earlier than we originally anticipated. Not that I don't love NJ, but I sure love Texas...
Speaking of NJ, it's been raining cats and dogs for almost a week now, with no end in sight. We finally slipped below the 60 degree mark and had to turn the heat on. I'm so excited to see a fall and winter here, and I hope NJ doesn't disappoint. We only have so many northern falls/winters to go through before we head out of here!
Wes:
So there is good news, and there is bad news. As always, the bad news first, so we leave remembering the good (thank you, standardized testing, for teaching me how to write a cookie-cutter essay). The bad news: I've lost my rain coat, and that makes me sad.
The good news: I met with my candidacy committee--formerly known as the San Antonio District's District Committee on Ministry--a couple weeks ago and was unanimously voted to continue on in the candidacy process to become an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. Golf clap, please. AAAAAnnnnnddddd, they also voted to recommend me for local pastorship, which means that in the next few months, I will be able to administer the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism at Ellisdale and Crosswicks UMC (those are the churches that I am pastoring if you didn't know). That deserves a standing ovation. Not for me, not for the committee, but for God, and all of the wonderful things that God is doing in and through Jessica's and my ministry. We are truly blessed to be a part of it.
In other news, I have started my second semester at Princeton Seminary. I thought it was weird being a new student in the Spring term... It is even weirder being the only second-semester first-year student at the seminary! I feel the need to explain to everyone that I am not just a junior, but a second semester junior, which is why I know where all of my classrooms are and don't have that look of foreboding on my face as do the other wide-eyed first years. Not that I'm much better--I still don't know the names of all of the buildings, or where everything is. Pretty much, I know where my classrooms are, where the computer lab is, and where I eat.
My classes are going well so far. I am taking a speech class, which is kind of redundant after extensive theatre work and working in churches for so long, but it is a one hour required course, and so far it's been nice to have a class that I don't have to prepare for at all. My class on the Apostle Paul and Karl Barth is very interesting. We are going through the book of Romans, looking in-depth into Barth's commentary on the epistle, but also bringing in a lot of other commentaries and popular interpetations of the text. I'm not gonna lie, a lot of it goes over my head, but I love the book of Romans, so I'm not complaining. I am also taking a class on Rienhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King Jr., which is by far my favorite class. It is very practically driven and looks at the theological aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. Cool stuff. Finally, I am taking a history class that is all about early and Mideival Christian artifacts, very interesting, but most of the readings are absolutely BORING. And it's a three hour block class, so today I had to bite the side of my mouth to stay awake through the whole thing.
So, when you move past church stuff and school work, I don't have much going on in my life. I have re-acquainted myself with that glorious concoction known as coffee, and we have picked up our relationship right where we left off last semester. This leads to me being very awake in the morning, and slightly droopy around mid-day, but hey, it wakes me up, and it tastes oh-so good.
Well, my friends, that is all for now. Jess and I have promised each other and God (that's called a covenant) that we will write on here more often, so come back often and read up on the exciting roller-coaster ride that is our life. For now, though:
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Birthdays!
Jess: Although we technically celebrated Wes' birthday as a married couple, I'm not really counting that because we were on a cruise. He got to choose all of our activities for the day, but there was a limit to what he could choose, and we were still on our honeymoon cruise! So I was extremely excited for the chance to spend some exciting time together.
I chose to go to Scranton, Pennsylvania. For those of you who are not geeks like Wes and me, this is the location where The Office, one of our favorite shows, takes place. I wanted to go to see the sites that are actually in the show, but it turns out that Scranton is smack dab in the middle of some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen.
We landed a beautiful Radison hotel room in a converted train station with sleep number beds (yes, they gave us two beds for some reason) and a nice view of the city. We spent the couple days we were there exploring the "sets" of the Office, the steam engine museum, and Bushkill Falls. We also ate a ton of delicious food and read more than I think we have in months! We had a no computer no cell phone rule so the silence was golden. It was wonderful together time, and a great way to relax before the school year begins.
As far as school goes, I'm starting a class on the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) starting on Tuesday and I'm excited to be back in school. It's definitely going to keep my theology brain working while I wait around for Wes to finish school. I've been reading these books already, and I'm excited to learn some more about the Old Testament. And my relaxing vacay has prepared me for it!
Wes: I gotta tell you. Everyone here thought that we were crazy for going to SCRANTON for a weekend getaway (that of course happened over the week since I only work on Sundays... That's a pastor's joke for those of who didn't catch on!). But you know, it was a good deal of fun! Apparently, we weren't the only two people to ever go to Scranton on an Office hunt. The mall was full of Office paraphernalia, and there was even an Office store full of souvenirs for the avid fan... And by store, I mean a small kiosk that we literally walked throughout the entire mall TWICE to find. And then we realized that the NBC store at 30 Rock in NYC had all of that stuff and more for less money. Kinda sad...
My favorite part of Scranton was Poor Richard's Pub--as seen on The Office--where Jess and I bought a koozy with the Michael Scott quote "Ain't no party like a Scranton party cuz a Scranton party don't stop!" Also, the bartender there was really cool and laid back-- the kind of bartender I'd be if I was one, I hope.
I think that my least favorite part was the hotel people... The receptionist was kinda rude, and the bartender/waitress was horrible. No tip was left for her, that's for sure.
The Poconos were amazing! I truly love the mountains, and the waterfalls at Bushkill Falls were beautiful. I will say, though, that if I never have to climb another set of stairs up the side of a mountain, it will be too soon. Jess and I were both drenched in sweat when we were done, and we didn't have any dry clothes to change into afterward, so the ride home was just a little uncomfortable.
I feel relaxed and refreshed, though, and this week has continued to be pretty relaxing as well. Life is good, and God is good. He has blessed us immensely, and we are very lucky.
Well, that's all for now! Thanks for listening!
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
I chose to go to Scranton, Pennsylvania. For those of you who are not geeks like Wes and me, this is the location where The Office, one of our favorite shows, takes place. I wanted to go to see the sites that are actually in the show, but it turns out that Scranton is smack dab in the middle of some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen.
We landed a beautiful Radison hotel room in a converted train station with sleep number beds (yes, they gave us two beds for some reason) and a nice view of the city. We spent the couple days we were there exploring the "sets" of the Office, the steam engine museum, and Bushkill Falls. We also ate a ton of delicious food and read more than I think we have in months! We had a no computer no cell phone rule so the silence was golden. It was wonderful together time, and a great way to relax before the school year begins.
As far as school goes, I'm starting a class on the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) starting on Tuesday and I'm excited to be back in school. It's definitely going to keep my theology brain working while I wait around for Wes to finish school. I've been reading these books already, and I'm excited to learn some more about the Old Testament. And my relaxing vacay has prepared me for it!
Wes: I gotta tell you. Everyone here thought that we were crazy for going to SCRANTON for a weekend getaway (that of course happened over the week since I only work on Sundays... That's a pastor's joke for those of who didn't catch on!). But you know, it was a good deal of fun! Apparently, we weren't the only two people to ever go to Scranton on an Office hunt. The mall was full of Office paraphernalia, and there was even an Office store full of souvenirs for the avid fan... And by store, I mean a small kiosk that we literally walked throughout the entire mall TWICE to find. And then we realized that the NBC store at 30 Rock in NYC had all of that stuff and more for less money. Kinda sad...
My favorite part of Scranton was Poor Richard's Pub--as seen on The Office--where Jess and I bought a koozy with the Michael Scott quote "Ain't no party like a Scranton party cuz a Scranton party don't stop!" Also, the bartender there was really cool and laid back-- the kind of bartender I'd be if I was one, I hope.
I think that my least favorite part was the hotel people... The receptionist was kinda rude, and the bartender/waitress was horrible. No tip was left for her, that's for sure.
The Poconos were amazing! I truly love the mountains, and the waterfalls at Bushkill Falls were beautiful. I will say, though, that if I never have to climb another set of stairs up the side of a mountain, it will be too soon. Jess and I were both drenched in sweat when we were done, and we didn't have any dry clothes to change into afterward, so the ride home was just a little uncomfortable.
I feel relaxed and refreshed, though, and this week has continued to be pretty relaxing as well. Life is good, and God is good. He has blessed us immensely, and we are very lucky.
Well, that's all for now! Thanks for listening!
You stay classy, World Wide Web!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
I've been working on the parsonage...
Jess: For the past two months...
So, we may or may not have mentioned this, but the previous pastor and his wife moved out of the parsonage about five years ago and bought their first house. Needless to say, there has been a lot of work to be done around here. Although we were able to come in before we moved and paint the messed-up, dirty walls, there was a lot left to do. The first time I vacuumed, I filled up our brand-new vacuum before I had even swept the whole house.
Then there were the unused cabinets, the filthy windows, and the bug problem to contend with (with which to contend. Sorry everyone). Not to mention the fact that we had to make sure we liked where all our furniture went, hang pictures, figure out the wireless, find furniture for the guest room and study, etc. Basically, we had our work cut out for us. We've spent the last two months cleaning and re-cleaning every surface in the house, arranging and rearranging furniture, and just generally figuring out what it means to be adults who live in a house.
I've really enjoyed the process, but it's also been quite exhausting. Every time I think we're done, I realize there's one more thing to do, like clean the walls or find out what's living in our garage.
The next big project is the entire outside of our house. Besides the drought all summer long that has destroyed most of the plants, we have overgrown gardens, a shed inhabited by mutant rats, and fall/winter are approaching quickly. Thank goodness I already took care of the moldy siding and disgusting windows, but there's still a lot of work to do. Living in a house is a lot of work, but it's definitely rewarding!
Wes: So as Jess mentioned, there's been a good deal of work to do on the house. There has also been a good deal of work to do at the churches. I had to move into the church office and learn my ways around the intricacies of preparing the sanctuaries for Sunday service. There is a list of To-Do's that have to be done, and I probably forget half of them each Sunday. That list includes but is not limited to:
1. Turn on lights, fans, and air conditioners
2. Light candles
3. Set out flowers
4. Put new hymn numbers on the sign
5. Set out bulletins
6. Make sure I don't need to get last-minute ushers/readers
7. Etc...
It's fun, but it is a lot to remember, and I usually don't remember half of it until half-way through the services.
My biggest challenge so far has been figuring out this whole church thing and all that it entails. The biggest part of that has been learning what church means to the people in the congregations. I've found that the mentality of most of the congregants is that church is what is done on Sunday mornings and on special events. The Holy Spirit has not been cultivated here in a long time, and the people don't know how to handle church sometimes. I think that my main job here is to show them that church, faith, Christianity is a movement. It is not something that happens only occasionally, but something that is alive within you and alive within the world. After I started talking through this idea with some of the members, this mentality has already started to shift and people are starting to grab hold of this idea and run with it. They are starting to look for ways to branch out from the church, attracting more people in and bringing the ministry out.
With this, we've also seen a dramatic increase in attendance, which has been amazing. The Ellisdale church had 40 people at worship on Sunday, ten times as much as had been there in June. Crosswicks is slowly growing as well. We had 30 people at worship on Sunday, and it has been a steady increase ever since we got here.
God is doing some really great things in this place, and we are very happy to be a part of it. Now the parsonage and the church are both on an upswing, and God just continues to bless us unceasingly. Thanks be to God. Amen.
So, we may or may not have mentioned this, but the previous pastor and his wife moved out of the parsonage about five years ago and bought their first house. Needless to say, there has been a lot of work to be done around here. Although we were able to come in before we moved and paint the messed-up, dirty walls, there was a lot left to do. The first time I vacuumed, I filled up our brand-new vacuum before I had even swept the whole house.
Then there were the unused cabinets, the filthy windows, and the bug problem to contend with (with which to contend. Sorry everyone). Not to mention the fact that we had to make sure we liked where all our furniture went, hang pictures, figure out the wireless, find furniture for the guest room and study, etc. Basically, we had our work cut out for us. We've spent the last two months cleaning and re-cleaning every surface in the house, arranging and rearranging furniture, and just generally figuring out what it means to be adults who live in a house.
I've really enjoyed the process, but it's also been quite exhausting. Every time I think we're done, I realize there's one more thing to do, like clean the walls or find out what's living in our garage.
The next big project is the entire outside of our house. Besides the drought all summer long that has destroyed most of the plants, we have overgrown gardens, a shed inhabited by mutant rats, and fall/winter are approaching quickly. Thank goodness I already took care of the moldy siding and disgusting windows, but there's still a lot of work to do. Living in a house is a lot of work, but it's definitely rewarding!
Wes: So as Jess mentioned, there's been a good deal of work to do on the house. There has also been a good deal of work to do at the churches. I had to move into the church office and learn my ways around the intricacies of preparing the sanctuaries for Sunday service. There is a list of To-Do's that have to be done, and I probably forget half of them each Sunday. That list includes but is not limited to:
1. Turn on lights, fans, and air conditioners
2. Light candles
3. Set out flowers
4. Put new hymn numbers on the sign
5. Set out bulletins
6. Make sure I don't need to get last-minute ushers/readers
7. Etc...
It's fun, but it is a lot to remember, and I usually don't remember half of it until half-way through the services.
My biggest challenge so far has been figuring out this whole church thing and all that it entails. The biggest part of that has been learning what church means to the people in the congregations. I've found that the mentality of most of the congregants is that church is what is done on Sunday mornings and on special events. The Holy Spirit has not been cultivated here in a long time, and the people don't know how to handle church sometimes. I think that my main job here is to show them that church, faith, Christianity is a movement. It is not something that happens only occasionally, but something that is alive within you and alive within the world. After I started talking through this idea with some of the members, this mentality has already started to shift and people are starting to grab hold of this idea and run with it. They are starting to look for ways to branch out from the church, attracting more people in and bringing the ministry out.
With this, we've also seen a dramatic increase in attendance, which has been amazing. The Ellisdale church had 40 people at worship on Sunday, ten times as much as had been there in June. Crosswicks is slowly growing as well. We had 30 people at worship on Sunday, and it has been a steady increase ever since we got here.
God is doing some really great things in this place, and we are very happy to be a part of it. Now the parsonage and the church are both on an upswing, and God just continues to bless us unceasingly. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Life, unexplained
Jess: So, in some big news in the Wesica life, I put in my two weeks' notice on Monday. There have been quite a few problems at work for me, and I haven't been having a lot of fun anymore. For something that's not my career nor my calling, it just doesn't seem worth the pain and stress of staying there. I also feel a strong desire to spend Sundays with Wes. Besides all of the church-time stuff, there's potlucks and meetings and other stuff, and I really need my day of rest! It would be nice to actually have a day each week to devote to God and our family. Of course, that makes me want to not work Saturday nights so that I'm fresh and ready for church early in the morning. Anyone who knows anything about working in retail means that it's not possible to not work half of Saturday and all of Sunday each week and stay in management.
After the events of the last several months, Wes and I spent most of the last couple of weeks looking over our finances, figuring out where we could get health insurance, praying, thinking, talking, calling friends and family, etc. After lots and lots of prayer, we finally agreed that Starbucks is no longer a workplace that nurtures me, and we can do just fine without it.
So here I sit, hoping to get a job somehow somewhere. For the moment, I'm looking for nanny jobs. I've already had a couple of interviews, and I have at least one more lined up this week. I'm also going back to babysitting part-time for the family I worked for this last spring. With a little more praying and some good luck, I'll be working full-time taking care of somebody else's children. Not only is that something I love, it'll remind me that I have no desire to have kids right now...which I think will make Wes very happy.
Wes: Good morning America! So Jess wrote her piece and then skedaddled, leaving me to write unhindered and uninterrupted. Which is good, because I want to spend my blogging time telling y'all how amazing and supportive my wife has been.
I've known for a long time that a life of ministry would have its difficulties and rough patches, and I've know that our brand of ministry especially will be challenging due to the whole both of us working in the ministry biz. But I never thought that I would go into my first appointment with someone so supportive and encouraging! Jess has taken a great deal of ownership in this church and the ministry, and every time I hear her say something about how "we should do this" or "what do you think about us doing this at the church," I am reminded that I married someone who is just as on fire for God and ministry as I am, and I am a very lucky man because of it.
People ask me how I am planning on working this job while going to school full-time. It never once crossed my mind that it would be a challenge, and it still doesn't, because I know that I have a wife who is supporting not only me, but the ministry that God has called us to do. She is the reason that I know that I can do this job and flourish at it, and she is a blessing from God, and I am extremely thankful for her. I can't wait to be able to return the support to her when she takes her first call to full-time ministry. I just hope that I'm able to be the love, support, and encouragement that she needs and that she has been for me.
Well, that's all for now! Y'all come back now, ya hear?!
-wes and jess
After the events of the last several months, Wes and I spent most of the last couple of weeks looking over our finances, figuring out where we could get health insurance, praying, thinking, talking, calling friends and family, etc. After lots and lots of prayer, we finally agreed that Starbucks is no longer a workplace that nurtures me, and we can do just fine without it.
So here I sit, hoping to get a job somehow somewhere. For the moment, I'm looking for nanny jobs. I've already had a couple of interviews, and I have at least one more lined up this week. I'm also going back to babysitting part-time for the family I worked for this last spring. With a little more praying and some good luck, I'll be working full-time taking care of somebody else's children. Not only is that something I love, it'll remind me that I have no desire to have kids right now...which I think will make Wes very happy.
Wes: Good morning America! So Jess wrote her piece and then skedaddled, leaving me to write unhindered and uninterrupted. Which is good, because I want to spend my blogging time telling y'all how amazing and supportive my wife has been.
I've known for a long time that a life of ministry would have its difficulties and rough patches, and I've know that our brand of ministry especially will be challenging due to the whole both of us working in the ministry biz. But I never thought that I would go into my first appointment with someone so supportive and encouraging! Jess has taken a great deal of ownership in this church and the ministry, and every time I hear her say something about how "we should do this" or "what do you think about us doing this at the church," I am reminded that I married someone who is just as on fire for God and ministry as I am, and I am a very lucky man because of it.
People ask me how I am planning on working this job while going to school full-time. It never once crossed my mind that it would be a challenge, and it still doesn't, because I know that I have a wife who is supporting not only me, but the ministry that God has called us to do. She is the reason that I know that I can do this job and flourish at it, and she is a blessing from God, and I am extremely thankful for her. I can't wait to be able to return the support to her when she takes her first call to full-time ministry. I just hope that I'm able to be the love, support, and encouragement that she needs and that she has been for me.
Well, that's all for now! Y'all come back now, ya hear?!
-wes and jess
Friday, June 11, 2010
Sorry...
Jess: We've been so busy with the move that we just haven't had time to write in our blog recently. I apologize to everyone who follows us religiously. :-P
So, speaking of moving, we're finally here! Wes officially got his job as the part-time pastor of Ellisdale/Crosswicks here in New Jersey, and we've been slowly moving over for the past couple of weeks. We painted all day two weeks ago, then I came back while Wes was away last weekend, and we finished moving on Wednesday. I realized what a wonderful blessing we have in our new friends here when we had four people helping us move IN THE RAIN all day on Wednesday. It was wonderful to have such great people willing to do manual labor just so we can have a nice home with our furniture in it.
So now comes the great task of making what was once a one-bedroom apartment into a tw0-bedroom house. We went to the wonderful CRW (seminary housing) garage sale and got ourselves some furniture; we also inherited some furniture from the former pastor and his wife. Our walls are all painted (beautifully, if I may say so myself), and we just have to start some organization as well as getting stuff on the walls. The house is definitely becoming our home, and it's been a wonderful adventure so far. My dad is coming to visit on Monday, and I'm really hoping that we can have it mostly ready by the time he gets here. Once we get through that interesting process, we're going to start looking toward the churches and what we can do. I hope we can be a blessing to this congregation as we have been blessed thus far in our married life...
Wes: So Jessica has filled you in on most of the fun activities that we have engaged in together in the past couple weeks. I thought I'd talk a little about what I've been doing with the conference and the fun things that are coming up. First, I had the great pleasure of attending the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference this last week. I have been attending the Southwest Texas Methodist Conference for nine years, and it was exciting being able to sit in on this one and look at the differences of how they are ran. Bishop Devadhar runs a tight ship, and it was exhilarating to see a conference ran in such a fashion. Everything that we did was saturated in prayer, and because of this, even the heated debates ended with everyone smiling and knowing that God's will was being done.
I also had the opportunity to talk to the Bishop about joining the planning team of a wonderful celebration that will happen this October. As most of you know, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and the United Methodist Church (UMC) have both voted to extend full communion rights to each other. What this means is that we will now be able to have an ELCA pastor preach, work in, and administer the sacraments in a UMC church and vice versa. This conference is hosting a celebration with the local ELCA synod in honor of this decision. Since this is obviously something that is near and dear to Jessica's and my hearts, I wanted to be involved in it. When I brought this to the Bishop, he was very excited about the chance to have "young blood" helping out.
Now, I must also take a second and ask for your prayers on something. On July 1st, I start my job at the churches. Please pray for both Jess and I as well as the churches as we transition into this time of ministry together. We are both very excited about what the future holds, but it prayers are always appreciated and needed. I also want to remind everyone that if you need anything prayed for, let either Jess or I know and we will put it on our prayer wall. We would love the chance to pray for you.
Well, that's all from us! You stay classy, World Wide Web!
So, speaking of moving, we're finally here! Wes officially got his job as the part-time pastor of Ellisdale/Crosswicks here in New Jersey, and we've been slowly moving over for the past couple of weeks. We painted all day two weeks ago, then I came back while Wes was away last weekend, and we finished moving on Wednesday. I realized what a wonderful blessing we have in our new friends here when we had four people helping us move IN THE RAIN all day on Wednesday. It was wonderful to have such great people willing to do manual labor just so we can have a nice home with our furniture in it.
So now comes the great task of making what was once a one-bedroom apartment into a tw0-bedroom house. We went to the wonderful CRW (seminary housing) garage sale and got ourselves some furniture; we also inherited some furniture from the former pastor and his wife. Our walls are all painted (beautifully, if I may say so myself), and we just have to start some organization as well as getting stuff on the walls. The house is definitely becoming our home, and it's been a wonderful adventure so far. My dad is coming to visit on Monday, and I'm really hoping that we can have it mostly ready by the time he gets here. Once we get through that interesting process, we're going to start looking toward the churches and what we can do. I hope we can be a blessing to this congregation as we have been blessed thus far in our married life...
Wes: So Jessica has filled you in on most of the fun activities that we have engaged in together in the past couple weeks. I thought I'd talk a little about what I've been doing with the conference and the fun things that are coming up. First, I had the great pleasure of attending the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference this last week. I have been attending the Southwest Texas Methodist Conference for nine years, and it was exciting being able to sit in on this one and look at the differences of how they are ran. Bishop Devadhar runs a tight ship, and it was exhilarating to see a conference ran in such a fashion. Everything that we did was saturated in prayer, and because of this, even the heated debates ended with everyone smiling and knowing that God's will was being done.
I also had the opportunity to talk to the Bishop about joining the planning team of a wonderful celebration that will happen this October. As most of you know, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and the United Methodist Church (UMC) have both voted to extend full communion rights to each other. What this means is that we will now be able to have an ELCA pastor preach, work in, and administer the sacraments in a UMC church and vice versa. This conference is hosting a celebration with the local ELCA synod in honor of this decision. Since this is obviously something that is near and dear to Jessica's and my hearts, I wanted to be involved in it. When I brought this to the Bishop, he was very excited about the chance to have "young blood" helping out.
Now, I must also take a second and ask for your prayers on something. On July 1st, I start my job at the churches. Please pray for both Jess and I as well as the churches as we transition into this time of ministry together. We are both very excited about what the future holds, but it prayers are always appreciated and needed. I also want to remind everyone that if you need anything prayed for, let either Jess or I know and we will put it on our prayer wall. We would love the chance to pray for you.
Well, that's all from us! You stay classy, World Wide Web!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
