Dear Grace Community,

A couple of weeks ago I sat at my desk making worship plans. I read through scripture and liturgies, and I thumbed through the hymnal. One of my favorite things about our hymnal is the online resource. The online hymnal lets us keep track of how many times we’ve sung a hymn and what dates we sang it. It also makes suggestions about hymns to go with scripture.

The best thing about it is that it plays 30-second samples of each hymn. This is immensely helpful because I don’t read ‘music well, so I don’t always know what tune goes with a song. Sometimes the words are wonderful, but the tune is hard, so I know not to choose that hymn.

On this particular day I played Hymn #839 Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine! Before I knew it, I was crying. My dear friend Nancy loved this hymn. She and I shared an office at our church in South Carolina for three years. Every Monday we talked about Sunday worship, and we always talked about the hymns. As two non-musicians, we talked less about the musical
characteristics of the songs and more about how they made us feel.

A few years ago, after a remission from breast cancer, the cancer returned to her bones. She did not live long after that.

Nancy was an incredible friend, and at 14 years my senior, she taught me much about life. Her witness as a Christian, a mother, wife, and friend inspired me. I was deeply saddened by her death, but years removed I do not think of her every day or even every week. Yet, her favorite hymn touched a place deep inside of me.

Grief is funny. Not ‘ha ha’ funny, of course, but inexplicable. In worship on November 1, we read aloud the names of people who died in the last year. During that service, I invited you to name aloud saints that you knew, living or dead. It is important for the church to allow space for remembering, for grieving.

On December 14, we have our annual Silent Night Worship Service at 6:30 pm in the sanctuary. The service is quiet, dark with candlelight, and it includes the Lord’s Supper. Everyone is invited. I encourage you to attend, particularly if the month of December is difficult for you, whether it is because of a recent loss, persistent difficulties, or grief that makes an appearance from time to time.

In Christ,

Catherine

Dear Grace Community,

On Sunday, November 22, the Presbytery installed me as your pastor. Yes, I was your pastor before Sunday. In fact, this was the third installation. That’s a long story that I’m happy to tell you some other time. For now though I want to say thank you.

Over the summer when I learned that the presbytery would require a third installation for me, I rolled my eyes. I thought it seemed like overkill, that we really didn’t need to do this again. And maybe we didn’t need to, but I’m glad we did.

Worship on Sunday was a wonderful celebration. It was a celebration of God’s goodness and a chance to give thanks for the ministry we share at Grace as pastor and congregation. It was an opportunity to ask God to bless our shared ministry going forward. It was joy filled with incredible music and many people faithfully leading worship. It was wonderful to be joined by sisters and brothers from Chase and Caldwell and to share a meal together after the service.

Thank you for the beautiful stole. You will see me wear it in worship, and I will treasure it throughout my ministry. It’s a wonderful symbol of our lives together at Grace. The imagery on the stole represents communion and baptism. It is only together as a community that we celebrate these sacraments, and I am grateful to be in community with you. I am grateful for the ways you support me and John, and for the ways I know you will love our baby.

In Christ,

Catherine

Dear Grace Community,

In his book, As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner tells the story of the Bundren family. Addie Bundren, wife and mother, dies, and the family must transport her body from their home to its burial place. They plod across Mississippi with Addie’s casket in the back of their wagon. It is a punishing journey. At one point they cross a river, and catastrophe ensues. The casket floats away, living bones are broken, and whatever pride was left is lost. While fraught with disaster, at its core, the Bundren’s journey is a familiar ritual, that of moving from death to burial.

The Bundren family needed someone to help them ford that river. Today when families are faced with death there is figurative water they do not know how to cross. My role is to help them. Others might be able to lead the grieving so far, but when it comes to crossing the water, it is my job to offer a steady hand.

This year as we approach All Saints Sunday onNovember 1, I decided to share this metaphor with you as it informs how I approach death, funerals, and memorial services as your pastor. I am the one who stands in the water. Standing in the water is not for the faint of heart, but it’s what I was called to and trained for. In time I’ve learned how to bend my knees at the right moment so the current doesn’t overwhelm me, though I still get wet and weary sometimes.

In five years at Grace I’ve led more than fifty funeral or memorial services. Each time I find myself, pants rolled up, wading into the waters of grief, holding out my hand, and helping to guide people to the other shore. This means being with them after a loved one dies, making service plans, and leading a service that both witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection and honors the one who died.

I cannot carry someone through the water. I cannot make the journey from death to the grave easy. It is hard work, and work that must be done by those grieving. My role is to guide them as they carry their loved one.

When a family makes it across the water, I don’t keep going with them. I stay by the water’s edge, which can be hard for others to understand. It’s not that I don’t want to go with them; it’s that I know there will soon be another family coming to ford the river. It may not be the next day or week, but soon someone else in our community will die, and there are others who can walk with a family beyond the shore: friends, family, neighbors.

On November 1, we say aloud the names of saints who are no longer with us. I give thanks for those people I’ve been privileged to know, to love, and to serve as their pastor. In our tradition, saints are not only the dead but the living, and so I give thanks for you who serve as witnesses and inspire me in my faith. It is my privilege to be your pastor.

In Christ,
Catherine

Dear Grace Community,

Please be at Grace on Tuesday night for the same-sex marriage program. Dinner begins at 5:45 pm ($7 for adults, $3 for children, family cap of $17), and the program is at 6:30 pm. Childcare is available.

Same-sex marriage is now allowed but not required in the Presbyterian Church USA. This means that each congregation may decide whether or not same-sex weddings are permitted on church grounds. In March, the Grace Session began to address the question about what we would do as a congregation. The Session sets all wedding policies for the church.

In April, the Session held three listening sessions for the church community. The purpose of these gatherings was to share thoughts and questions about same-sex marriage. The Session reflected on these groups and discussed how to move forward in this conversation.

In August, we established a study group to read and discuss two books, Washed and Waiting by Wesley Hill and The Bible’s Yes to Same-Sex Marriage by Mark Achtemeier. The entire congregation was invited to participate in this five week series. Approximately twenty people attended one or more study groups. The two books represent different viewpoints on same-sex marriage and were recommended to us by men who represent organizations with the PCUSA.

These two men are here on Tuesday night to speak and to answer questions. They are Paul Detterman and Brian Ellison. Paul represents the Fellowship of Presbyterians, an organization opposed to same-sex marriage. Brian represents the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, an organization in favor of same-sex marriage. They very much disagree with each other on this issue and yet agree about the value of being in PCUSA together. Their willingness to dialogue and stay in relationship is a powerful witness to church unity.

Our congregation will not be of one mind on this issue, but my hope is that we can learn from these men both about their perspectives and about their commitment to being in a Christian community with people they disagree with.

The gathering on Tuesday is the final step in our Session’s process before voting on a same-sex marriage policy for Grace. The plan is for the Session to make this decision at the stated meeting on November 23. (This is one week later than originally scheduled.) You are strongly encouraged to reach out to any or all of the Session members to talk with them about this issue before the October 19 Session meeting. Session members are listed at the bottom of this letter. Call, email, or write them. Any unsigned correspondence will be disregarded.

As the Session prayerfully considers this decision I ask that you do the same and that you pray for them. See you Tuesday.

In Christ, Catherine

Session Members:

Ron Brown

Cindy Dethloff

Fred Heismeyer

Jerry Juhnke

Maggie McIntire

Don Murphy

Charlene Randle

Sandy Remsberg

Janet Rhoads

Betsy Ross

Sue Steele

Bill Vavra

Dear Grace Community,

“Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say Rejoice!” This was Paul’s message to the Philippians and a good message for us too.

This summer we introduced you to, “Rejoice,” the proposal to enhance our worship spaces at Grace. The church leadership set a goal of $65,000 in order to make updates and changes to both the Great Room and Sanctuary. I was hopeful, even confident, that we would meet the goal, but what happened was more than I expected.

We not only met the goal in gifts and pledges, we exceeded it!

Again and again the generosity of this congregation amazes me. In the coming weeks the Board of Trustees will set a timeline for these enhancements to begin and will discuss the best way to steward the gifts that are above what we requested. Know that any money received that is above what we asked for will be used for worship enhancement.

There were some projects that we did not include in this campaign because we couldn’t get good bids and confirmation of work or because they were seen as useful enhancements but not immediate needs. Now we may be able to consider some of those projects as well. We’ll keep you abreast on the progress in both spaces in the coming months.

As we continue in our common life together we do so rejoicing, and I look forward to seeing you in worship.

In Christ,

Catherine