June 2008

GREETINGS FROM PASTOR BILL

This article starts with a "recap" for a kind of "farewell", sort of. Ginny and I say THANKS to you for welcoming us so warmly into the wonderful extended family that we call formally Mulberry Street United Methodist Church, or affectionately, just "Mulberry". As most of you know, I moved into the retired relationship to the Annual Conference and served one more month with the brothers and sisters at Rootstown UMC, east of Akron, and reluctantly left there at the end of April in 2007. I just felt it was time for me to make the change. Happily, I had 35 years service credit, and that (plus Social Security) makes a huge difference in the way we can live. We had made arrangements to move into our newly purchased retirement home in Apple Valley. We wanted to live in Knox County because of having siblings in Delaware and Coshocton Counties. We did a little "shopping around" for a new church home, but always with Mulberry in mind. We first attended several churches which are closer. Two couples from Mulberry stopped at our garage sale and invited us to church.  Our minds were pretty much made up after we attended Mulberry just ONE SUNDAY, I think it was early in July.  Not only was the preaching by Rod Buchanan very good, but the music was very good, the Sunday School was very good, and the welcome was warm.  We are glad that many in the church want it to be "the outreach church". As most of you are aware, then the church was already moving into a very unusual time, with several staff changes coming in 2 or 3 months, and I was asked by the District Superintendent to be supply pastor during August and September, after we had barely arrived at Mulberry.  It was an honor to be asked, and I saw my main calling as being an encourager for the church.  My only regret is that I was not prepared to work full-time in that role as supply pastor, and that was not the request anyway.  And we needed to be away in October to visit our only child, Dr. Ben, in New Mexico, where he works for a laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy. It was a blessing to the church that Rev. Irwin Jennings was able to be the Interim Pastor during October-March.  It is curious that our high schools (Warsaw and Conesville) are both now part of Warsaw Riverview School District. He came with so much experience and administrative skills, and, most important, a deep faith in God.  I was sure it would be a good time. I was glad to "sit at Irwin's feet" for six months. It was a productive time.  In that six month period, the Staff-Parish Relations Committee, in consultation with the relevant groups, was able to hire very capable staff persons in Matt Diffenderfer (outreach), Sarah Yoakam (secretary) and Elizabeth Boskovich (music). The Education coordination was picked up by volunteers Diane Henwood and Eileen Dunham. Youth Ministry has been led for the time being by Mike and Robin McKinley, with help from Dustin and Amber Lemaster, with Dustin doing his intern work for his degree at "the Naz" with our church. We hope, when the new pastor is here, to soon be able to hire a paid youth ministry coordinator. It is a time-and-energy-consuming responsibility, and we want people of strong faith in Christ in that leadership role.  That leader will still need a lot of volunteer help! We all owe a debt of gratitude to these new staff persons and the volunteers who have stepped up in new ways.  Special thanks to Amanda Brazeal for coordinating our Child Protection Plan and getting us up to date. I appreciate so much Bob and Sue Hillier and others who visit the ill, and help keep me up to date on who needs a visitor from the pastor.  And these are just the ones who come to mind right now. There are others who have "stepped up" in many ways. And we see that, for the circumstances, the worship attendance and giving have held up well. I look to a time of many gains in the near future. We have already received several new members in this transitional time. This is my farewell article IN ONE WAY.   My term as Interim Pastor is April-June, and I am delighted to see that my friend of long standing, Pastor Warren F. Outhwaite, will be our new pastor, effective July 1. I look forward to his being my pastor. The new parsonage is nearly ready for them. (Of course, your not having a parsonage was one of the main reasons that you did not get a new pastor sooner.) Ginny and I met Warren and Betsy in the late 1970's when we were both serving parishes in Delaware County. They have always been special to us, even though after time that we were not serving in the same district at the same time.  They are several years younger than we are, and Warren has about as much experience as I have as a pastor. I think they will be a great match with Mulberry.  I am confident that WE will be blessed by his Biblical preaching and his collaborative leadership style. I'll let them tell you about their four children, etc. For two reasons, Ginny and I will not be visible to many of you in the months of July and August. (1) As a professional ethics courtesy to my colleague Warren, I will be mostly away when he is getting started with you. (2) There are a lot of people we want to visit in previous parishes, and we have delayed that visiting since last summer. But in ANOTHER WAY, we are hoping that we are NOT SAYING A LASTING FAREWELL. Our intent is to make this a "we'll see you later." After July and August, we still hope to be active parishioners at Mulberry, as long as I do not get another call from a District Superintendent. And I am not hoping for such a call.  We love all the people of Mulberry and want to get to know you better, as we serve Christ together. We do feel at home with you.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bill Norman, Interim Pastor (through June 30)