It is finished...

Yesterday before lunchtime, I was examined and approved by Coastal Presbytery to be ordained and installed at Church Much Nearer to My In-Laws. Several people from the PNC and a couple of others were there to cheer me on. It was nerve wracking and the two young men also being examined were much more graceful under pressure than I was, I'm afraid, but in the end it all came to the desired conclusion.
I'm very excited about this church, and they seem equally excited to have me. Their last couple of pastors were old men ready to retire, who just wanted a way to coast into their retirement and not have to do a lot of care for the people, so they'd just get into the pulpit on Sundays, show up for session and that was about it. They seem really ready for something new and fresh, and I guess that's me. I'm really looking forward to meeting the rest of the people, b/c if they're even half as lovely as the people on the PNC, I'll be in good shape.
I owe a debt of gratitude to the supply pastor who has been there the last few months, as she is the first woman that church has ever had in their pulpit (there are not a whole lot of women in this presbytery, small though it is). She blazed the trail for me and I am very grateful.
The members of CP were also lovely and I received many, many welcomes and well-wishes.
No more hoops!!!

One week...

until I go before presbytery for my final examination. I've chosen to be examined by the presbytery into which I am going, as opposed to the one from whence I came. Old presbytery, the one I'm supposed to be "under care" of, didn't do a lot of caring for me. New presbytery is seeming a lot more supportive already. I'm hoping it will be pretty smooth. Like I said before, there are 3 of us and we all have to preach and answer the standard questions. I hope that folks will trust the examinations committee and let us just go with that.
I've got my sermon ready. It's on Moses' call, burning bushes and all. I hope it will preach.
Otherwise, we're trying to get things organized, cleaned up, painted, etc., to get ready for our move. We're renting, but we agreed to paint the ceilings and stain the deck in lieu of a security deposit. We're also trying to tame the garden beds which were full of out-of-control rosemary hedges and wild blackberry thorns and even some poison ivy when we got here. I like to garden, but it's hard to get something under control when it was so crazy to begin with. I don't think they'd cared for the garden much in the several months the house was vacant before we moved in.
P is on a rampage to get rid of all of our 'junk' before we move. Of course, to him, that means all of my stuff that he doesn't understand why I keep (like, gasp, my yarn stash!) This, coming from the guy who has a box under the bed full of stuff from high school and college (like plastic cups and a faux lei from some frat party he really enjoyed putting together) that he hasn't even looked at more than once since we got married-and that was just to open the box to see what was in it and then shoving it back under the bed. I think I may make him a deal that he gets rid of the stuff he hasn't looked at in over a couple of years, and I'll donate to our church knit/crochet group any yarn I don't have a specific project in mind for. Knitters, doesn't this sound like a fair deal?
On that note, I'm almost done with a pair of socks for my sister. See side bar.

Thanks be to God!

The congregational vote at the Church-Much-Nearer-to-the-Inlaws was today. You could have knocked me over with a feather when they told me the vote to call me was unanimous. I think that speaks most highly of the enthusiasm of the PNC and of the introduction by the chair, a man I have quickly come to value as a friend and colleage. I'm sure it does help some that CMNI has been searching for a pastor for nearly two years now, but by intervention of the Spirit, they managed to hold out for me.
I was flattered to hear, too, that I was the first candidate that the PNC had voted unanimously to extend a call to. (yes, there had been at least 2 or 3 others before me... like I said, intervention of the Spirit.)
That's two of the three hurdles now. Just the presbytery meeting now. This is the one that has me sweating, only for the fact that there's always that wildcard that could be sitting on the floor waiting to pounce on a young female candidate with a killer question. Kinda just to get their jollies, ya know.
Well, not to borrow trouble, I guess.
TTFN.

No Cheatsheets

This weekend we are all travelling up to the town of Church Much Nearer to the In-laws to let P and L meet some of the PNC folk and give P a chance to tour the area a little. I will be in a meeting with the presbytery's Committee on Ministry (COM) for an examination for approval. This is one exam with no cheatsheet. I have no idea what they will want to know. I've already sent them a bio and statement of faith. I'm hoping the Spirit will be there and grace will abound. I have been in plenty of committee meetings where that wasn't the case, especially at the presbytery level. As long as they don't get too political, and keep to theology and faith and such, we'll be golden.
On the other hand, I know P is really excited to see where we'll soon be living and working. It's a beautiful area, less than an hour from the shore, lots of great cultural attractions. And it's a mini-vacation for us because every time I visit, they put me (us) up in a swanky, brand new Hilton right on the river. (Ok, so it wouldn't be my choice to line Paris's pockets, but they're making the reservations and I'm not paying for it.)

I hate bureaucracy

Yes, I had to spellcheck 'bureaucracy.' Anyway, I got an unofficial-as-of-yet call from the Church Much Nearer to the In-Laws recently. That's the good, no, great, news. I got a relative time table from them today of how they hope meetings and such will go for me to be examined and approved. If you've ever been part of 'the process,' especially in my denomination, you understand. Basically, nothing will even start until early Oct. and probably won't be finished until late Oct. We can't even think about big things like moving until the final approval of the presbytery at the end of Oct. Which means I probably won't be able to actually start working until mid- to late November. This is freaking out P. He's a very type A and likes things to move quickly and efficiently. Bureaucracy does neither, I'm afraid.
So, while I'm incredibly excited, I'm also very stressed and nervous about all the big changes. Buying a house, I need a new car, getting L into a good preschool, etc. Wow! Writing it out like that really makes it seem even more daunting.
Well, I'm sure the excitement has just begun with much more to come.
If you have a few prayers to spare, we'd love 'em over this way.

Time for a quick catch up

Well, we had a wonderful trip to Canada. The weather was really nice, warm during the day and cool at night. Even the day we had rain was nice. The rain was lovely to hear pattering on the water and in the leaves. I got to hear the loons call, probably my favorite lake sound. We went out in the boat and took some wonderful pictures.

Here are a few more of the lake and the "cottage" we stay in (all boats have to go under the bridge to get from the cottage out onto the lake):

On a different note, I have a face-to-face interview with The Church Much Nearer to the In-laws in the middle of August. I'm already nervous about that. Last time I had one of those, they picked the other candidate, so I'm already psyching myself out about my chances. Prayers please.

We'll be celebrating L's third birthday this coming weekend. My family is trekking down from N'ville to be with us and bring her her new big girl bed. She's been needing it for a while, but we could just never coordinate schedules and U-hauls to get it down here. I think she'll be excited. She got to pick out the comforter and sheets a while back and she loves to pull them out and "nest" in them. I can't believe she's almost 3! More on that later...

Second one down

I wanted to make this a separate post since it's a totally separate matter. But I did have my other phone interview with the Church Much Closer to the In-Laws. They really seemed interested in me. We talked for close to an hour, and it was a good hour, not the kind that seems to never end. By the close of the conversation, they were already asking me when I could come up for a neutral pulpit. So pretty soon after returning from Canada, it looks like I'll be off on another trip of a much different nature. I'm hoping they'll feel like flying me up there, I don't think I really want to drive for 9-10 hours before preaching and then turning around and doing it again to come home. Especially if I have to do it alone, which it looks like I may have to since P will be negative on vacation after we get back from Canada.
This church did exactly what I hoped and asked good questions. It was clear they'd read my PIF and drawn questions from it and they'd been well led by their interim as to who they are and what they need from a pastor. I was pretty impressed. And I think they were too, which is a very good thing for me.
On the other hand, I have no idea what this area will be like to live in, other than it seems to be rather expensive, at least the housing market is. But then again, this church is also offering a whole lot (and I mean a whole lot) more to a first time pastor than anywhere else I've looked. Of course, it's also fairly close to a very popular east coast beach area, and though I don't go beach crazy like some folks, I do enjoy it on occassion, but even better is that it's also right on a reservoir that is a great recreational lake area. I need to do a little research on the area. But it is well-populated enough to be a likely area for P to find a job too. That's my main concern on the family front.
Well, I do need to get going on all that post-vacation-no.-1 laundry. I'll let you know how things are going. I hope to hear back from Church Much Nearer to My Family soon about whether or not they want to do a face-to-face or let me go. That'll be big news. Until then.

one down...

Well, I had phone interview one of two. This was the one with Church Much Nearer to My Family and I think it went well. I'm never sure about how I come across since I know I tend to ramble a little when I'm nervous. I did wonder how they would feel if they knew I was sipping a gin-n-tonic while I was talking to them. Just to calm the nerves. Probably bad form, but it did help. I felt like I asked good questions (some serious thanks go to previous RevGals "Ask the Matriarch" posts), but I actually wish they'd asked better ones. I got the oh-so-typical, where do you see yourself in 5-10 years, what are your strenghs/weaknesses, etc. I do so wish they'd get a little more creative. I think for the next one I'll write down some responses to these typical questions since, as I said, I tend to babble when I'm nervous. If I have something to look at, I can keep myself on track better, I hope.
But on the other hand, it seemed to go well, and I hope to hear from them again. They are a relatively young congregation, about 30 years old, I think, and seem to be pretty forward thinking and open-minded. I think we'd do well together. Plus, I think it'd be a great place for our family (yeah, I know, I've said that before).
The next one I'm actually having to do while I'm on vacation. Oh well, it's better to interupt 30 minutes of vacation than risk not having a job. At least there'll be lots of in-laws to help care for L while I'm on the phone. That call will be in the next couple weeks and I'll let you know how it goes.

Finally Some Good News

I finally heard back from Church Much Nearer to My Family. You know, the one that asked for that infernal video? Well, they want a phone interview- a very positive step. And of course, out of the blue, I get contacted by another church in Mid-Atlantic East Coast state who found me through the CLC website. (That's Church Leadership Connection for all you non-presbys.) And I've still got a few out there in limbo. But it's nice to finally have someone want to speak with me, and not just one someone either. I try not to get too excited, but it's certainly much better than nothing at all which is what I've been hearing a lot of lately. So I'm having a little mini-celebration over here if any of you want to join me. No cake or anything, but maybe a bloody mary later in the day.

Another day, another...

...church to send a PIF to. Well, since I'm still waiting around to hear from the other two, might as well hedge my bets. This one sounds up my alley theologically, it's in a city that P can almost certainly find a job in, so might as well test the waters and see if they're interested. I was surprised to hear Dad say that when he was looking for churches back in the day, most pastors and churches only looked at one church/candidate at a time. All I can say is, I don't have that kind of patience. Besides, I like to have options. :) What do some of you RGBP's think about that? I'm sure different denominations have different regulations, too.
On a completely different note, all you moms who might be reading this, got any ideas on what to do with frozen bananas? I have 10 or 12 in the freezer now that L's favorite thing to do is beg and plead for a banana, take one bite and be done. I try to convince her that she really doesn't want it, but she insists and it IS fruit and healthy and I don't want to discourage her eating good things, but... anyway, any ideas? We can only eat so much banana bread.

Great News!!

Well, if you've kept up with my dilema, you know I recently had only one church that had contacted me so far about pursuing a call. Well, no longer!! I got contacted today by Church Much Nearer to My Family, and it's in a city where P can almost certainly find a job and not have a monster commute. I believe his company actually has an office in this city, so he could just transfer. This is so good, because the longer I have to think about it, the more I'm thinking my childhood issues with poor, small towns could be a big problem if I tried to work in an even smaller and poorer town than the ones I grew up in. I'm still open to a face-to-face interview, but, well, this new opportunity is really the kind I was hoping for all along, good for the entire family, I think.
If any of you have had an experience where you've had to choose between a job that is more certain, and waiting for a call that is less so, I'd love to hear about it and the outcome.

The Blessings of Family

I keep getting emails from people whose names I heard all growing up but can never quite put faces with. Turns out Dad is contacting everyone he knows in the PC(USA) to tell them his little girl is looking for a call. It's really nice to know I have that many people looking out for me. Kinda flattering really, though I know it's really more for love of him than me. Still, I have even gotten a couple of good leads that way.
My MIL was here over the weekend. She was so much help just entertaining L, that I actually got some time to myself. We all went to the opening weekend of the Renaissance Festival which was a great time. It was nice to go do something together as a family that we all actually enjoy doing. L is just old enough now to like the little petting zoo they have and some of the brightly colored costumes and the music. We'll go back at least once, probably on Highlands weekend so P can wear his kilt. MIL bought me a beautiful blown glass vase from a man who we've seen do demonstrations on several occasions. I'm excited to actually have a piece of his work.
On a totally different note, L read her first word today. "Zoo." She didn't actually sound out the letters, but she recognized it after reading it over and over and over and.... well, if you've ever read to a two year old, you know. That was pretty exciting and I had to tell all the grandparents. They were all suitably impressed and very proud. Me too.
P is gone all this week and part of next to Albany, GA, on a job. I really hate these long trips, especially when they encompass a weekend. He hasn't had one in a long time, so I guess I won't complain too much. At least not yet; I'll save that for closer to the weekend.