A Full Season

One of my mentors taught me to replace the word “busy” with “full” when describing the pace of ministry.  He liked to avoid “busy” because its often used in the negative sense of the word, and it implies a level of disconnect – as in, “Don’t bother me, I’m busy.”  The past 2 weeks have undoubtedly been the most “full” of my time so far at FPC, but that’s not a bad thing.

I had the privilege of getting to know the Beers family (Warren and his late wife, Mardell) through the memorial service we hosted for Mardell last week.  Like much of what we do around here, I didn’t plan on getting to know them or serve their family in such a specific way, but it was a joy to do so.  When I first came to FPC, Tom taught me how to sit down with a grieving family, interview them, and listen to their memories of their loved one.  It was an honor to do that with the Beers, who were a part of Covenant Pres. for a long time and moved over to FPC in the last few years.  Wonderful people, wonderful celebration of Mardell’s life, and a wonderful experience in ministry – leading a funeral – which I hadn’t done before now.  I co-led the service with Chuck Gerome, the pastor from Covenant, which was also a joy.

The Beers’ memorial service came at the tail-end of a very full season around here.  As someone said recently in our staff meeting, the alternative to having a lot going on at FPC is to be a dead/dying church, which I’m sure none of us would prefer.  I should also say that the other events and duties which made this season especially full – preaching, the leadership retreat, Bible studies, small group, and the community worship service at Fellowship Church – are all good and excellent examples of God’s great love and mercy in our midst.

At the end of a full season, I can say confidently that I’m glad not every season is like this.  At the same time (especially after taking time to rest and recover with my family), I’m grateful that we do have seasons like this in our ministry at FPC.  God is good to us, and Christ leads us into his mission in ways we don’t anticipate.  I’m glad for that.

Solo Dei gloria,

Travis Fletcher