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16 Church. I can still see the faces upon the members as they were tight-lipped, downcast and silent. I had over 5000 hours of experience chairing meetings previous to this so I thought to myself, ‘No problem’. But for all the tooth pulling I might as well have been a dentist. For example, after a piece of correspondence was read, I would suggest, “The Chair is open to receive either a motion about the corre- spondence or an agreement to receive for information”. Silence! It was unbearable so I talked on for awhile BUT no further direction was received. The meeting was so L—o-n-g! And the basement ran hot and cold depending if you were near the heat vent or not. I learned quickly so subsequent meetings began to go much faster. The ultimate learning is that in the Faith community decisions are reached much dif- ferently than in the secular communities.

The first fall was busy reformatting the ‘Order of Wor- ship’, ofiiciating at my first Baptism and my first Com- munion service. One of my notes from my ‘Pastoral Record’ book dated October 1, 1989: “What a week; Mary and I restored”. My experience informs me that adjusting to the expectations of the Pastoral Charge is more demanding upon the family members who have followed ‘the minister’ (husband, or father in this case). My thirteen-year old daughter summed it up this way when one day she asked me, “What kind of God makes a thirteen-year old leave the city and live in the country?” My response, “The same God that asked me to be here. I trust you will come to under- stand what God wants for you here.” By the time she had reached sixteen, I was informed not to be moving her from her home again.

CHURCH MINISTERS