August 30,2015

Those of us who were here last week were witness to a Utopian version of what a pastor should be. But here is what I believe Pastor Kathy has really been to us.

About four years ago, Pastor Kathy joined us as Interim Pastor. She came here to help us down the path to finding a new Pastor. Her mission was to help us find out who we were, who we now are as a congregation and help us discover what we want for our future. NOT an easy task. But she jumped in with both feet. She came n with new ideas. Some well received, some not. She came in with sermons that inspired us, even shrugging off Larry’s tapping of his watch.

She was here for highs and for lows through our journey. She welcomed new members such as myself, Hayley, Tory, Doreen and others, as well as those confirmed like Josh, Kyle and Sam to help to expand our church family. She was also there to help us through the difficult times when our church family grew smaller due to the loss of loved ones such as Donald, Larry, Joe and Ibi. She reached out to keep in contact and visit those who were sick or those who were just in need.

Her sermons not only taught us the Scriptures, but taught us how they related to our daily lives. Some sermons were serious, some were light-hearted and more often than not included a joke or humorous story usually at John’s expense. She helped us with reading the tongue-twister Old Testament names like David, Moses and Solomon to easy ones like Abel-Meholah (AY-b’l-mee-HO-lah), Shib’bo-leth (SHIB-uh-lith), Zephaniah (zef’uh-NI-uh), or reminding me that the reading is not Genesis Chapter 1 verses 1-2a but Genesis Chapter 1, verse 1 thru Chapter 2, verse 2a. What a surprise for a Sunday morning. Today’s reading is much shorter. All the while guiding us down the path. Sometime s gently,sometimes with a hard push. She kept us moving forward.

She encouraged our outreach from food drives to manning the booth at the Farmingville Street Fair, singing at the Rehab Center or belting it out during the seventh inning stretch. She joined in at our Christmas in July and pet blessings in September.

And with all journeys down the path, we have come to a crossroads, which you have led us to. We may part ways in a physical sense, we part filled with the Holy Spirit and the knowledge that we will always be in God’s house together.

Pastor, we thank you for these things and many more and on this day in which we celebrate your time with us, knowing that a part of you will always be with us, and knowing that a part of us will always be with you.

So I am going to wrap this up, because I don’t want to take time away from your sermon and because if I don’t we will be here all day.

So will you all join me in the Call to Worship…

Written and spoken by the Lay Leader, David Bell

at the begging of the worship service held Sunday, August 30, 2015

Congregational United Church of Christ, Farmingville, NY

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Related links:

• August 2015 – Pastor’s Letter – A Time to Say Goodbye
• August 30, 2015 – Sermon: Our Season of Life together
• Notes of Thanks – August 2015
• Resources for Saying Goodbye and Hello