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We give our very busy Stated Clerk a small break from writing an article for the Bi-Weekly Brief by having a member of Presbytery Council share their thoughts each month. For this edition we are grateful to the Rev. Paul Pfeuffer for his contribution. Paul is the Pastor of Flushing.
When I went to gas up my in-laws’ car the other day (my Kia is in the shop in my hometown of Pittsburgh and that is a rather lengthy tale that’s best told another time) I saw something in the convenience store that gave me pause. Peanut butter pumpkins are on sale – already! I know much has been made about the encroachment of the Christmas shopping season creeping up and up and up and overtaking other occasions such as Halloween and Thanksgiving, but apparently, it’s Halloween’s turn! You know it’s getting close to that time of year when you start seeing ads for back-to-school shopping. Yes, this is the period of time during which the shadows lengthen and we all reflect on questions such as: “did I make the most of the summer while it was here?”
Even if you don’t currently have kids going back to school, this time still stands as a signifier for bigger changes in our day-to-day lives; we aren’t given over to as much freedom and fun in the fall as, say, the wild and nostalgia-filled days of the summer months. There is an oncoming crispness in the air and the co-mingling bittersweetness of putting the frenetic chaos of the past behind us, and a sense of picking up where we left off. For many churches, the change in the seasons signifies “getting back to business” – Sunday schools resume, most of the Christian ed events and programs kick back into gear, and we begin the march to advent (preachers, how many of you have started thinking about worship during the month of December?!?).
My advice to you, church? Don’t get bogged down in the busyness. Don’t glorify being overly busy, either. Remember that it serves a purpose, and don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees. Remember that ultimately we put these events and programs in place in order to worship the Lord God with every breath we draw, every lesson we prepare, every bulletin whose typeface is so lovingly placed. Let all of your efforts be not to your own liking, but ultimately to the Lord’s. And remember, please, to take a break every now and then…and maybe eat a peanut butter pumpkin (or substitute your favorite candy) here and there?
Blessings,
The Rev. Paul Pfeuffer
Pastor of Flushing and member of Presbytery Council
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