Some have referred to interim pastors as “temporary shepherds”.  Others, often mockingly, have called them “very lame ducks”!  Actually, the ministry of an interim pastor is a much-needed and often complicated one.

1.  “Just don’t rock the boat” –  The nature of a temporary ministry may include attention to matters of vision, mission, building, staffing, budget, growth, and structure.  Sometimes congregations find themselves in severe conflict and a major state of decline.  Then “rocking the boat” has already happened and interim pastors tend to the system (congregation) and deal with urgent issues. Fortunately, BCMC has done incredible work in the past number of years in many of these areas.  “Rocking the boat” is not desired nor anticipated.  More than likely, I will be called to steer the boat, keep it on course, and encourage the passengers (BCMC leaders and participants) to keep on rowing.  There is much to be thankful for; there is much to look forward to.  I will hold up the mirror and reflect what I see as I minister in the name of Jesus Christ.
2.  “Just what will you do?”  The three areas that will require my 3/4 time are:  worship/preaching, crisis ministry, and administration.  We will work together as a current staff who already have a tradition of spiritual worship that combines the heart, mind, and soul in Christian discipleship.  I will work with the Worship Commission to invite many voices to participate–especially with attention to inter-generational worship–by offering their gifts in word and deed.  In the area of pastoral care, I will attend to crisis situations and major life changes.  Susan Wheeler and I will coordinate care along with the Visitation Team and Deacons.  And finally, I will attend to administration to be sure that communication is clear and goals are accomplished.  The Church Board will be setting direction and consulting with the congregation as the Pastoral Search Committee begins its work. I look forward to these varied ministries in the next 6-12 months.
3.  “Weren’t you retired?”  Yes, I was!  I enjoyed the less demanding schedule and the ability to sleep late and travel to see my mother in Minnesota, my brother in Colorado and our daughter in Ohio.  However, the tug to serve BCMC was very strong and the opportunity to again delve deeply into pastoral ministry a true calling.

May God grant us all new visions for mission as we conclude the 15-year chapter of ministry of Heidi Regier Kreider and prepare to welcome a new pastor in the next year.

Dorothy Nickel Friesen

MCUSA youth from across the country found themselves ‘on the way’ to downtown Kansas City for #Mennocon15. Many groups flew from far off locations, while other groups piled on buses to travel to KC from cities like Denver, Columbus, and Philadelphia.

The BCMC Senior High, twelve students and five leaders, enjoyed a nice little jog to convention in a big red van and a couple Subaru’s! (Thanks Orvin and Janet!)

Row 1: Laura Tran, Elizabeth Tran; Row 2: Sarah Turner, Jon Voth, Allie Shoup, Jason Wong, Will LeVan; Row 3: Mercedes Rodriguez, Maggie Dungan, Ben Lichti, Angus Siemens; Row 4: Christian Rodriguez, John Tyson, Austin Prouty, Zoe Siemens, Karen LeVan, David LeVan

The first word that comes to mind for me, as I think about the convention experience, is stimulating. We start by gathering downtown in a large city, a context quite different from the familiar wider Newton community. Once unpacked, we find ourselves, suddenly, in a big convention center amidst crowds of people. Everywhere we turn, there is a seminar, a game, an admissions counselor, a group of friends, a college exhibit, a free t-shirt, a hymn sing, a folk concert, somebody with a video camera, a movie – the list goes on! Twice a day, we gather for worship in front of an expansive stage adorned for a full band. Two large screens and an array of flashing lights create a highly engaging and – oftentimes – overwhelming atmosphere. Worship services begin with creative advertisements and calls to engage convention through means of several social media platforms. From a youth and youth sponsor perspective, the convention is more ‘on the move’ and less ‘on the way’!

Dining room at Kansas City Community Kitchen

I am grateful for the fact that mid-way through the week, our group had the opportunity to break off from the convention spectacle and spend an afternoon serving at the Kansas City Community Kitchen alongside Rich, John, Kenny, and Juan the baker. The Kansas City Community Kitchen serves 2,500 hot lunches per week and 130,000 hot, nutritious meals per year in a neighborhood not too far removed from downtown. As youth sponsor Karen LeVan noted in her reflection on our service experience, Lead Chef Rich asked us to “be honest about whether you give what you hope to receive.” I believe our group was abundantly faithful to Rich’s request, even as it meant cutting down raw chicken. (A helping of Juan’s fresh cookies served as additional motivation!)

As the week progressed, it was clear that Senior High youth were encountering and processing the issues and atmosphere of the adult delegate sessions as they attended numerous seminars and other events. On Saturday morning Ben Kreider, a BCMC delegate, visited with us to talk about his delegate experience and the content of the resolutions. Ben shared about the tension and widespread emotions present in the delegate assembly, but he also noted the spirit-filled dialogue that he encountered at the table with fellow brothers and sisters representing many diverse communities.

At one of our many morning breakfast and debrief gatherings, each of us in the circle shared one of our favorite aspects of the convention experience. I was struck by the fact that almost everyone shared something different. While #Mennocon15 at times felt overstimulating, I am grateful that the large buffet of activities and experiences meant that there was something engaging for everyone.

I am also grateful for twelve students who jumped completely into the convention experience. I am grateful for Ben Lichti, David LeVan, Karen LeVan, and Allie Shoup, who devoted an entire week to enabling the students to learn and grow. Finally, I am profoundly grateful for a congregation that values and supports the lives of youth.

– John Tyson

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I recently joined others from BCMC to attend the Mennonite Church USA convention in Kansas City. Highlights for me included worship services with inspiring preaching and vibrant music; dozens of conversations with new and longtime friends; a gathering of other women pastors; and seminars on racial justice, theology for rural congregations, and inclusive congregations that welcome members of the GLBTQ community.  I served as a table leader at the the delegate assembly, and appreciated the love and respect shown as people of widely different viewpoints and experiences spoke their convictions and listened carefully to others.  I also felt deep sadness, as I witnessed pain, anger and division within our “beloved Mennonite Church,” (as the moderator called it several times).  I wonder what the experiences we have had and decisions we have made at convention will mean for our denomination, conference and congregation?  In this spirit, I share with you a column written by Richard Gehring, moderator of Western District Conference, in Sprouts, WDC’s weekly newsletter. ~ Heidi Regier Kreider

On Forbearance – by Richard Gehring, WDC Moderator

By now, most people who are interested have likely heard the results of votes taken at last week’s Mennonite Church USA Convention in Kansas City. While there were significant actions taken on several important issues, most attention has been focused on the two resolutions that speak to the role of LGBTQ persons in the church. Delegates affirmed the Forbearance Resolution that recognizes the diversity of perspectives in our church, and calls on us “to live in grace, love and forbearance” with one another. The same day, the delegate body also adopted the Resolution on Membership Guidelines that re-affirms the guidelines that prohibit pastors from performing same-sex marriages, and imposes a four-year moratorium on any action to change them.

The two statements clearly stand in tension with one another. Many would say that they are even contradictory. For WDC, the votes do little to help us clarify the potential impact of adopting or rejecting the resolution we face at our own Annual Assembly in October.

Much of what happened in Kansas City, however, is impossible to convey in news releases and brief reports. It was about much more than what the resolutions stated and how many people ultimately voted for and against each one. For several days, delegates sat around tables with sisters and brothers in Christ, seeking to discern the movement of the Holy Spirit. There were more than 90 such tables, each with 8 or 9 delegates present.

At my table, we came together from many different places, theologically as well as geographically. We spoke from the heart, sharing our convictions regarding the truth of Christ to the best of our understanding. We listened to one another. We wept with one another. We prayed with and for one another. We laughed with one another. And we wept with one another some more.

The table thus became a sacred space where Jesus was palpably present. I am convinced that all of us are deeply committed to faithfully following Christ. And all of us are deeply committed to living within the church, the Body of Christ. I remember and understand more deeply that Jesus’ promise to be present wherever two or three are gathered in his name is a promise given in the midst of instructions regarding church conflict. (Matthew 18:20)

I doubt that any of us ultimately changed our minds regarding the significant topics we discussed and voted on. We may not have been right in all our decisions. But I hope that we all came to a better understanding of why our brothers and sisters hold different viewpoints. I know that was true for me. And I hope that we can continue to be the church together even in the midst of our differences.

I know it won’t be easy. It is difficult—perhaps even impossible—to extend the experience of the table across the denomination, or even across WDC. I know that many will choose not to come, or feel that they are unable to come, to the table. I know that some have felt unwelcome or even unsafe at the table. I know others are tired of the conversation and don’t have the energy to come back to the table. I know that many—including me—have felt pain, anger, sorrow and fear at the table. But it is my prayer that we will continue to seek out those with differing viewpoints and experiences as we seek to do our best to be the church that God is calling us to be. We will make mistakes. And we will need to continually practice humility, grace and forbearance with one another.

In introducing the Forbearance Resolution, Pastor Charlotte Lehman of Reba Place Fellowship in Evanston, IL declared, “Conflict is not the enemy. The Enemy is the enemy. We want to glorify God in both the outcome of our dialogue and the way we conduct our dialogue.”

As conference moderator, this is my prayer for WDC. May the way we conduct our dialogue give glory to God. May the outcome of our dialogue bring glory to Christ. And may our dialogue continually seek to reveal the glory of the Spirit.

(To read earlier Pastor’s Posts, click in “Pastor’s Post” below, and scroll down.)

The people of Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Charleston, SC, are in our thoughts and prayers following the recent tragic shooting of nine members of that congregation while they attended a Bible study.  Most of us probably have a jumble of feelings and responses:  We lament the violent and senseless deaths of those who lost their lives, and pray for comfort and strength for survivors. We are appalled at the hate and racism that led the shooter to commit this horrible deed, and we long for justice and healing for human brokenness and dysfunction. We protest the easy access to guns that made possible such destruction of life, and acknowledge our own complicity in systems of violence and racism.   And, we are moved by the deep faith, expressions of love and reconciliation, and proclamation of God’s presence that has been evident in the congregation at Emmanuel AME.  May we stand in solidarity with these sisters and brothers in Christ, as we find our own ways to lament suffering and death, bring healing where there is hate, protest weapons of violence, and bear witness to God’s justice, love, and reconciliation in a hurting world.

As a prayer for this week, I offer an adapted version of the prayer of confession for this week from the discernment guide for delegates to Mennonite Church USA convention:

God, you know both our outer actions and inner motives, our frailty and faults. Our confession is not to add to your knowledge, but a way for us to be honest with ourselves. It is also a means to receive forgiveness and restoration in our communion with you and those around us. So, forgive us our sins and restore us  to a right relationship with you, with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and with our neighbors. For the sake of our wholeness, the healing of the church, and the liberation of the world we pray.  Amen.

– Heidi Regier Kreider

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Our family recently observed the 5^th anniversary of my father’s death.  It was a sad time, but also an occasion to recall favorite memories.  I remember how my father always had a story or a joke at the tip of his tongue.  The one that came to my mind recently, as I have been contemplating my upcoming transition (from pastor at BCMC to Conference Minister at Western District Conference) is the story about the church which had a Bible verse posted over the door to their crib nursery.  It was a verse from 1 Corinthians 15:51:   “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed!”  Corny, I know…but true.  Whether we are hoping for resurrection or just some dry diapers, whether we are adults still grieving the loss of a parent, or a pastor and a congregation anticipating a leadership transition, we will be changed.

Change is an inevitable part of life, yet our impulse is usually to resist change – to hold out against the loss, grief and disruption that change brings to our lives.  As I prepare to leave my role as pastor after 15 years at BCMC, there are times I would rather just “sleep” than “be changed.”   There are moments I would rather just toss all my files in the recycling bin than sort through them carefully to decide what to put in the archives. There are moments I would rather just disappear quietly than go through the exhausting emotional process of saying farewell to congregation members and co-workers.  There are even moments I would rather just stay with “business as usual” at BCMC than push the congregation and myself into the deep and uncertain waters of pastoral transition.

Even the changes we plan for – such as graduation, marriage, retirement, or a new vocation – can bring stress, anxiety and sadness at leaving behind things that are good.  At the same time, change is essential for growing, learning, health and vitality.  Transition brings us into a “liminal” time, a concept first used by anthropologists to describe rites of passage and the stage of ambiguity between what has ended and what has not yet fully begun.  This word comes from the Latin “limen” which means “threshold.”  When congregations and their leaders cross new thresholds, it involves disorientation, grief and stress.  Yet it also creates fresh vision, an opportunity for people to use their gifts in new ways, and deeper dependence on God and realization of the Spirit’s guidance.

As we move across the threshold of pastoral transition, I’d like to post over the door some more verses – my prayer for BCMC:  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. …God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:5-7, 19-20)

– Heidi Regier Kreider

(This was published recently in the Pastor’s Corner in the Summer 2015 issue of the BCMC Kaleidoscope newsletter)

To read previous posts, click on “Pastor’s Post” below and scoll down

This summer BCMC is hosting Allie Shoup in the Ministry Inquiry Program, a service-learning experience sponsored by Mennonite Church USA to provide opportunity for college students to explore pastoral ministry.  Allie will participate in a variety of activities at BCMC supervised by pastor Heidi Regier Kreider.  Allie and her husband Will are students at Bethel College, and live in Newton.  BCMC members are invited to host them for meals (or provide meals) on Sunday noons and Monday through Thursday evenings, as a way to get better acquainted and support her in this exploration of ministry.  Please contact the church office if you are interested in doing this.  Here is Allie’s own introduction of herself and some reflections upon beginning her Ministry Inquiry Program experience:

Allie and Will Shoup

Hi-Hello! I’m Allie Shoup (though you’ll find me on some lists as Alexandra), a senior Bible and Religion major at Bethel College and the Summer 2015 Ministry Inquiry Program student and Intern here at BCMC. I am a dog person without a dog. I love yoga on lazy summer afternoons, driving in the country with my husband Will as we listen to indie folk, and sweet cups of hot tea sipped over a good book. Before the age of 20 I had worked in, lived in, or visited 15 countries on 3 continents. I am SCUBA certified, macaroni and cheese is not healthy but is my favorite meal, and I love the color teal. And while all of these things are a snapshot of me — my actual story, what led me here to you, is what follows.

I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas with my parents Rhonda and Steven Shook, who are both practicing educators, along with my little brother Evan (two years my junior), and a myriad of young women who came into our home as exchange students or just someone looking for a place to belong. I was blessed to have a home led by parents striving to live out their Christian faith with involvement in the Church of God (out of Anderson Indiana). I spent a couple of years of my childhood in the jungles of Papua New Guinea as my parents worked in a missionary school for Wycliff Bible Translators, and I returned to the other side of the island (Indonesia), flying-solo from the US, my first year of high school. I finished up my last three years of high school at Maize High and began my college career at William Jewell College in Kansas City in the Fall of 2011. After my first semester I found my way home to Wichita to attend Wichita State University for three semesters, and this is where I met my husband Will. My eyes met Will’s in a class on the Apostle Paul taught Wes Bergen in January of 2013, and our whirlwind romance led to a June wedding under the cottonwoods on his parents’ farm 10 miles north of Pratt, Kansas just five months later.

As young people devoted to God’s kingdom and committed to seriously living out Christ’s call to a radical life of nonviolence, justice, and community, we found a place of solace in the Mennonite circles that we encountered through Wes Bergen. After Wes married us and we moved to Lawrence, Kansas to live and work for a year, we found a small place of belonging at Peace Mennonite Church in Lawrence. The Mennonite communities that we met were open to the difficult questions that we had about the essence of Jesus’s message and what the radical implications of that message were on our daily living. And so it was, that after a year hiatus from school, we decided that we wanted to finish up our undergraduate educations at a Mennonite institution, which we knew would have a history in this kind of discourse and individuals exposed to our beliefs — Bethel College.

At Bethel, I have been blessed with Faculty and Staff that want to engage with me, but Campus Pastor Peter Goerzen in particular has worked to encourage me in my interests and talents. Peter approached me in the Fall asking if I had considered ministry as a path I might be interested in or called to, and invited me to consider visiting Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in November and participating in the Ministry Inquiry Program in the Summer. This was the first time that the path of pastoral leader had been presented to me as an option. The church I attended with my parents as a child never had a woman in a head leadership role, and the churches that I attended individually in high school and college had strictly prohibited women from roles of leadership (except for minor roles held in conjunction with a husband). Here, a new door was opened for me, and behind it lied a vocation that was a beautiful mosaic of each and every one of my passions: education, social-work, philosophy, theology, music, art, public speaking, leadership, and the list goes on. In this line of work, I see endless opportunities to learn and grow and contribute, and be myself.

This opportunity at BCMC this summer to explore all the facets of the job of a pastor is a gift that I am inexpressibly grateful for. I hope to find, in these few months, some direction for my future, encouragement in the midst of uncertainty, and the chance to grow as both student and teacher. While in your midst I will be working with Pastor Heidi Regier-Kreider to understand her job, I will sit in on Sunday Schools, hang out with the Youth, run the Active Response time during Vacation Bible School, accompany the Youth to Mennonite Church USA Convention in Kansas City, participate in worship on Sunday mornings, and accompany your spiritual leaders to hospital rooms, funeral homes, and committee meetings. Twice this summer, you will find me behind the pulpit sharing a sermon and I thank you in advance for your loving support and encouragement as a I learn a craft of which I am only an apprentice. These first few days have been a whirlwind, but I am filled with thanks and excitement and joy and energy as I enter this new adventure and time of exploration. I can’t wait to get to know your community and all of the wonderful individuals that make up the body of Christ here.

With many thanks and blessings,

Allie Shoup

To read previous Pastor’s Posts, click on “Pastor’s Post” below and scroll down.