I have to say it was a nice date. Several members were there to greet me and take me out to lunch. We had a nice lunch at O'Charleys. The present Pastor and his wife joined us so it was a nice bantor of conversation. They were most congenial. They then took me over to see the parsonage.
Nice parsonage, and finally a garage again, with a storage shed. Yea! (We don't have either right now, and have been concerned things would disappear, but have not so far.) They even have an attic, (we had to put one in here when we moved here.) Big back yard, no fence though. 3 houses down from the church, not right next to it. New laminated flooring inside. 3 bedrooms. Great room, 2 bath, and formal living room/dining room. Laundry room. It has the essentials. Nicely furnished. I liked it, and I think it will suit us. We are going to have to have a moving sale though, but we were thinking about doing one anyway. Moving gets harder every time. And wouldn't you know it, I forgot to take my camera to get pictures of the inside, so the kids could see their bedrooms.
Now for the church itself. (I did get 2 pictures of the church). It has a very nice Family Life Center which is used a great deal. Nice classrooms. The youth have some nice space to meet in and play in (always a plus.) And yes they have a good youth group, however the Youth Minister moved on to a better offer. I have a office in the church, not in the parsonage. I have a secretary, I don't have to do all the secretarial work, but of course that means deadlines. The choir director has left, and the pianist leaves when I get there. The sanctuary is beautiful. Wow, I was really touched in there, they have treated that sanctuary lovingly. They have some good members, and they have some of the issues that any church has. The feeling I left with was this has potential. Houses all around, apartment complex down the way, school nearby, community center. So now I have seen, and I like what I see.
They have had some of the top notch Pastors in our conference, and it shows. The present Pastor has done a great job with them. Before I left, I prayed with the people there, including the Pastor and his family. What a awesome responsibility God has entrusted me with, I am humbled and honored. I pray that I am God's servant there; and listen and obey, and lead them to listen and obey.
So I had a great date! I did however have a long drive there and back. And had to fight the 18 wheelers all the way. What was it, trucking day? The late afternoon drive wasn't as bad. Although I did run out of energy and the ability to concentrate by the time I got home. Thank you Lord for a safe drive.
1 comment:
Sometimes the attitude of: "let the adventure begin" is appropriate. I appreciate the sense of adventure you all must be going through. But how wonderful to read of your good reception! And a part time secretary at that! How cool.
Hope all goes well and will be anxious to see what the "Vicar of Florence" will have to allow.
Marty
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