I will celebrate the 35th
Anniversary of Ordination on August 27.
In the scheme of things, thirty-five years is not that long although my
kids might think I am ancient. I think
of it as just a couple days ago that my pals, my professor and my pastor laid
hands upon my head as the long-standing ritual of ordination and being set
apart by the people of God for Word and Sacrament ministry. Not to be irreverent but it seems right after
the laying on of hands that my hair started showing silver sparkles.
After 35 years, it becomes
a natural pause to reflect on changes that I have seen in ministry. Some changes have been practical and other
changes are theoretical or attitudinal.
·
In 1978, I was my
own secretary. Weekly bulletins and
newsletters were produced by typing a stencil with a typewriter. If I wanted to put an illustration in the
newsletter, I would carefully cut out the space with an x-acto knife, cut out
the illustration from the subscriptions illustrations, and then, cement it into
the stencil so well that ink would not bleed into it. After that, I would place it on the drum of
the hand-crank Gestetner mimeograph and crank out 100 bulletins. My right bicep became 10% larger than my
left.
·
Sound systems are
much more sophisticated. In my first
parish a microphone was hardly necessary but, in order to be like the folks in
town, a sound system was purchased. It had a lovelier mike with a great big,
long cord tethering me to the chancel.
It was a while before wireless microphones had the bugs works out well
enough to be viable for churches.
·
Language has
evolved over the course of 35 years.
Teaching about the First Article of the Creed in confirmation class I
described God as being “awesome.” Young Gordon
raised his hand and asked what “awesome” meant because he had never heard the
word before.
·
Pastoral ministry
has changed in a way that currently affects me.
Interim ministry was unknown 35 years ago and then the Southern
Wisconsin District of the ALC (the predecessor of the ELCA) called an
individual who was among the first trained interims. Back in the olden days of the 1970’s
vacancies were much shorter and there was little visioning done by the call committees. A pastor would be recommended to a
congregation and maybe there would be
a face-to-face interview. Sadly, that
pastor who followed a long pastorate or a conflicted pastorate often became a de facto interim whose call to such a
congregation would be short lived.
Interim ministry has become the norm when there is a vacancy which eases
the transition from one settled pastor to the next.
·
Pastoral care is
different. Back when I was a baby pastor
people would be admitted to the hospital for a couple days for “tests.” Folks would be admitted the night before a
procedure or surgery would be scheduled.
That practice didn’t last too long after I was ordained. Now, a patient is given his bottle of rocket
fuel to drink at home the night before his colonoscopy. Now, a surgical patient is told to arrive
long before dawn to get prepped for surgery regardless how inconvenient that
may be.
I continue to surprise
myself with the changes that I see over the course of time. Some changes are for the greater good of the
Church. Some changes are because of
trends. Some changes are simply for the
sake of change. You know what? We live through it and, in the words of
Scarlett O’Hara, “tomorrow is another day.”
Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all our years away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
dies at the op’ning day.
(O God, Our
Help in Ages Past, ELW No. 632, vs. 5.)
