vicemodblog

Richmond, Chapel Hill and an Ordination

Last week I had three Vice-Moderator visits in a few days' time. My first visit was last Wednesday as I drove to Richmond, VA to the campus of Union-PSCE.

I was invited to spend a whole day of activities at the school where I received my Master of Arts in Christian Education back in 1994. As many of you now know the school is federated since 1997 and just about everything is located on Union's side of the campus. Where PSCE used to be located now belongs to Baptist Theological School at Richmond (BTSR). They have done a fine job restoring and renovating the old campus. I began my time by preaching chapel service in the beautiful Lake Chapel in the Allen and Jeannette Early Center for Christian Education and Worship. I preached on the subject "What Happens Next?", giving all the challenge of following Christ in today's world. Afterward I ate at the weekly Community Lunch for students and staff at the Belk Center and had conversations with various people. I was given a tour of the Morton Library and I have to say that is one of the finest libraries I have ever been in! Next I went across the street to the the offices of the Presbytery of the James and Synod of the Mid-Atlantic where I met with staff and given a tour of the building. I ended my time with a Question and Answer session with students and faculty followed by a pizza party before heading back to Raleigh. It was only the second time in 15 years that I had set foot on campus and I need to make it a point of coming back more often. The highlight of my visit was being escorted by Rev. Syngman Rhee, Director of the Asian American Ministry and Mission Center and Moderator of the 212th General Assembly. It was a honor to assist him with communion during chapel and getting to talk about life and ministry. Thanks to President Brian Blount and all faculty and staff for being great hosts!

The following Sunday I was the guest preacher at University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, NC with Rev. Bob Dunham, Pastor and Anna Pinckney Straight, Associate Pastor. I preached both the 8:30 and 11:00 services (and two children's messages) and was taken out to lunch by Bob and his wife, Music Director Thomas Browne, and Anna at 411 West. But the highlight of my day was being a part of the Presbytery of New Hope Commission to Ordain Sarah Wiles as Minister of the Word and Sacrament at Wake Forest Presbyterian Church. Sarah, a recent graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York and under care of New Hope Presbytery, was ordained at her home church as a pastoral resident at First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, MI in the Fund for Theological Education/Lilly endowed Transition Into Ministry Program. I have known for the past 13 years when I first came into this presbytery as an adult member of the Youth Committee and she was a high-schooler on the Youth Council. It has been a privilege to see her grow and follow God's call into the ministry and I was honored to be a part of her special day!

Well, I had a great time last week and looking forward to more visits with Presbyterians throughout the U.S. and the world. Next trip be next week with a 10-day itineration to the Synod of the Northeast!

Shameless plug for World Communion Sunday worship resource

Hey all! I pray that you are well and enjoying the coming of the fall season. I have not written in about a week and will blogpost soon about my latest trips. But I wanted to put in a "shameless" plug about the worship resources for this coming Sunday, October 4. I am sure that many of you are aware that this Sunday is World Communion Sunday, in which we celebrate a common bond through Lord's Supper/Eucharist with all other Christian communities of faith. Each year the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program develops resources for the Peacemaking Offering which is collected on this Sunday and provides resources for Worship. I was asked to provide the Worship resource this year and I hope you will check it out and use it in your worship on Sunday. Here is the link:

http://www.pcusa.org/peacemakingoffering/worship.htm

Be on the lookout in the next few days about my latest trips and my Oct. - Nov. travel schedule! 

Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church

As of late, I have been doing a lot of local church Vice-Moderator visits and today was no exception. This morning I traveled to North Chatham County, NC to preach at Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church (CITPPC) with the Rev. Mindy Douglas Adams as pastor. Although this congregation is technically in Chapel Hill, NC which is normally is in the bounds of New Hope Presbytery, it is actually in the bounds of Salem Presbytery because Chatham County is in their jurisdiction. 

The short history of this congregation is very interesting and can be found on their website here. To make it a short story, the largest church in Chapel Hill, University Presbyterian Church (UPC) sought a way to organize a New Church Development (NCD) in a growing part of North Chatham County. Through a long process, a group from UPC formed a task force in 2005 with Mindy, who was at the time an Associate Pastor and Presbyterian Campus Minister at the church. As time went on they developed a mission statement, received support from other churches and received a grant from the PCUSA General Assembly. After meeting and worshiping in a few venues including a hall at UPC, a local apartment community room and a restaurant, the congregation was chartered by Salem Presbytery May 4, 2008 where Elders and Deacons were ordained/installed and Mindy was called as Organizing Pastor. They currently hold worship and other educational events at North Chatham School, a county elementary school. They do have land and are in the process of designing plans for a permanent church in a growing housing subdivision. I have to say it was the first time I preached in a school's multipurpose room - and it was great! The congregation is formed into 5 teams and their responsibility is to fix-up the worship space and other rooms to be used on their assigned month.

During worship, CITPPC recognized their link and support for the Campus Ministry at UNC. A student from that ministry spoke of their activities and thanked the congregation for their support. I preached from the Mark lectionary text (9:30-37) with the sermon entitled "Do You Want to Be First or Last?", emphasizing that we are called to become servants and identify with the least of these. After the service, I had the opportunity to speak to many members during the fellowship time and they are truly supportive of the ministry of the church and of Mindy's leadership and guidance through the Holy Spirit. 

Thanks to all the CITPPC members and especially to Mindy, who has been my friend and colleague in ministry for the past 13 years with most of those when she was in New Hope Presbytery with me. I am sure that God will continue to bless this 115-member congregation to do great things in the years to come!

Western North Carolina trip

[image:Phillip Chitwood]

A few days ago I made my way to the western part of North Carolina for a Vice-Moderator visit. If you have never been to Western North Carolina with the Blue Ridge Mountains as a backdrop or visited Asheville, NC I definitely recommend you make a visit! 

I drove over from Raleigh this past Saturday and stayed at "Presbyterian Heaven" (a.k.a Montreat Conference Center). I was hosted by my friends Ginny Soll, Director of Christian Education at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church and Bill Buchanan, Associate Pastor at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Asheville. All three of us were in school together at Presbyterian School of Christian Education back in the '90s. We went to dinner at the always famous My Father's Pizza and had ice cream for dessert at Kilwin's.

The next day (Sunday) I went down the street to Black Mountain Presbyterian Church to preach two worship services. The early one (8:30 a.m.) was the informal, contemporary service named FirstLight and the 11 a.m. traditional service was packed! In between services I spoke to the Biblical Perspectives adult Sunday School class on my time as Vice-Moderator and what have I seen about the church to date. The class again was full and the members asked some great questions. Rev. Karen Haak, interim pastor, has done a great job the last two years and in a week she will give way to the newly called pastor, Rev. Shannon Kershner. It was great getting to know Karen and I wish her well in the next stage of ministry.

Later on in the afternoon, I was the Keynote speaker for the Presbytery of Western Carolina's High School Rally back at Montreat.  Under the direction of Beth Gunn, they have a really organized Youth Council that is very talented and friendly. The rally's theme was "Righteous Obedience" from the Book of Esther. I did two keynotes there and after it was over I was pretty tired! Beth and Bill took me to dinner in East Asheville to a wonderful Greek/Italian restaurant named Pomodoro's Cafe. I spent the night at the Glen Rock Apartments and was a guest for breakfast at a Montreat pastor's breakfast before heading back to Raleigh.

I had a great time in Black Mountain/Montreat and thanks to all who made it wonderful. And the Presbytery's Youth Council ROCKS!

[image:Princess Stand in the Rain]

 

"What are you looking forward to?" - September Churchwide letter

Monthly columns featuring GA vice moderator Byron Wade and Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons

September 2009

What are you looking forward to?

BY BYRON WADE

As summer turns into fall, people are looking forward to new things.

Take my son Andrew, who started second grade a few days ago. He had a great summer camp experience, but was so ready to go back to school. His eagerness was driving my wife and me crazy! He talked about meeting his teacher, seeing his classmates, buying school supplies, and more. When I dropped him off at school, he was definitely ready for the change.

The church is also looking forward to new things. Many Christian educators are working hard at preparing for rally day events. Pastors and program staff are restarting existing church programs or creating new ones. Talk of stewardship and church budgets begins to be heard. Parishioners are returning from summer vacations and seeking the support and comfort of the community of faith as they begin the cycle of work routines, family schedules, and various tasks.

Through all of these things we hope and pray for something new to happen, whether it is increased attendance in worship and educational programs, mission projects, or a renewed emphasis on faith and discipleship.

In my travels as vice moderator, I have seen Presbyterians looking forward to the new things that God is and will be doing. Whether it is spending time with young adult volunteers who have answered God’s call to mission, or churches that are embarking on service and renewal projects in their communities, or sitting around the table with colleagues at governing body meetings, there is fresh hope that God is calling us in the everyday to experience God’s leading in a new direction to serve people in this day and age.

What are you looking forward to? It is my hope and prayer that you will remember the words of the prophet Isaiah, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)

Now I know why . . .

[image: Lifestyle Family Fitness]

A few months ago my fitness gym closed down unexpectedly and a nearby Lifestyle Family Fitness gym took our memberships. When I went to the new gym to sign up and get my new keycard, I noticed a group fitness class called BootCamp which met on Monday and Thursday mornings at 6 a.m. (yes - 6 a.m.!) for 12 weeks. The class itself is a combination of strength training and cardiovascular fitness in which we would run distances, suicide drills, obstacle courses and exercised with light to moderate weights. The class had about 15 people who except for two of us were all women, mostly younger - I was the OLDEST in there - and we came from all walks of life. The classes were tough and very challenging but the one thing I noticed about this group is that although competitive as a whole, we supported each other. It was nothing for us to clap and shout for each other or just congratulate someone on finishing an exercise. Although we did not know each other from Adam and Eve you could sense that everyone had the well-being of the other in mind.

One day as I was leaving class to go back home and get ready to go to the church office the thought suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks -

Now I know why people don't go to church. 

Of course there are many reasons why people don't go to church. However what struck me in that moment while driving back home from the gym was that I realized for the first time that people seek out and develop community outside of church. Whether it is at the gym, sipping coffee and lattes at Starbucks, hanging out with friends, or just spending time with family at home is just as rewarding and don't necessarily need the spiritual (or at least religious) component. It's crazy to say but if I were not a christian I could see how this BootCamp group support me and I would have questions about going to an "organized" church. I pay my money, stay in for a short time (50 minutes), have fellowship with others and get something out of it. Isn't that all I need, especially when you are telling me about having a relationship with a God that I cannot see but I am concerned about what is tangible? How would you explain that?

Now don't get me wrong. The BootCamp class is competitive. We don't or probably will not form a long-lasting relationship with each other (although I met and talked to three of the women who belong to the same church as my neighbor. And one of them is the wife of the pastor). But it does make you think of how can we who are the church answer those who have no need of being a part of a faith community and have those needs met elsewhere.