One of the things I value most about my identity and heritage as
a Presbyterian is that we have historically placed a high value
on education. Our congregations, by and large, are filled with
people who have earned degrees and engage in a pattern of
lifelong learning. The same is true of our clergy. Each year,
when you vote on Catherine's and my terms of call, you include
two weeks of study leave in addition to our vacation time. We
also receive a professional expense allowance, out of which we
subscribe to various periodicals and purchase books that help in
our sermon preparation or in our personal devotions.
Last month, Catherine spent a week at the Festival of
Homiletics, where she got to hear some of the top preachers in
the country. I look forward to hearing about her experience
with that. I spent three days in the final installment of the
Clergy Clinic in Family Emotional Process. This began last
November and just concluded in mid-May. I studied family
systems theory as developed by Murray Bowen and Ed Friedman.
These tools have given me time for reflection on my ministry,
and my ministry as it relates to our congregation.
I really feel as if these tools that we are given by the
congregation go a long way in keeping us current on issues and
sharp in our approach to ministry. Sometimes we can get bogged
down in the details of programs and administration, but it is
good to get away from time to time to remember why we are called
to ministry—what motivates, inspires and challenges us, what is
rewarding, what is troubling, how we can improve in our
scholarship as well as our pastoral care.
So I just wanted to thank you for your support of Catherine and
me as we continue to read and study, learn and grow. I hope you
can see the fruits of this in sermon preparation and in our own
personal health. The opportunity to serve in a denomination and
in a congregation that values continuing education means a great
deal to both of us.
Grace and Peace,
