(This is a re-post from 2012, but it still rings true!)

Friends, I thought I would share with you these Monday morning thoughts that I have had.  Please take them for what they are: some ramblings of your Pastor!

Okay, here a conversation that i find myself having all too frequently:

Neighbor:   So, what do you do for a living?

Emile:   I am one of the pastors at a local Presbyterian Church.

Neighbor:  Which church?

Emile:  Winter Park Presbyterian, we are near College Road on Wrightsville and Kerr Avenue.

Neighbor:   Oh…  [PAUSE]  Is that the pumpkin church?

Emile:  No, no.  The pumpkins are our Methodist Friends.  We are the church right next to the GoGas.

Neighbor:  Oh…

-TIME OUT FOR REVIEW-

Okay, so anyone notice what I have done wrong?  (And I have had this very conversation many, many times.)

I passed up the opportunity to say sometime meaningful about our church and its ministry.   Instead I described us only in proximity to discount gasoline.  

What would have happened if I had used the opportunity instead to say something positive about our church?

“WHAT CHURCH?” CONVERSATION #2

Neighbor:   So, what do you do for a living?

Emile:   I am one of the pastors at a local Presbyterian Church.

Neighbor:  Which church?

Emile:  Winter Park Presbyterian, we are near College Road on Wrightsville and Kerr Avenue.

Neighbor:   Oh…  [PAUSE]  Is that the pumpkin church?

Emile:  No, no.  The pumpkins are our Methodist Friends.  We are the Ukulele Church.

Neighbor:  The Ukulele Church?

Emile:  Yeah, we’ve got a Ukulele Choir.  We love music.  We also have a voice choir, handbell choir, and children’s choirs.

Neighbor:  A Ukulele Choir?  I’ve never heard of a church ukulele choir!

Emile:  Yeah, it’s a lot of fun, and we are always welcoming new ukulele players.

The Conversation Continues…

SUMMING UP

There is, of course, much more to our church than just the Ukuleles and our other wonderful choirs.   I invite you to think of a short-hand way to describe our church to a stranger who has never heard of us before (even if they drive past us every day!).

I really do believe that I (and we) should use such opportunities to state something positive that gives a little insight into the wonderful community that we enjoy here, the vibrancy of our ministries, and the faith in God that we share as we gather to worship, work, fellowship, serve, eat, study, and strive to be disciples of Christ Jesus.

I am going to do my best to stop describing our wonderful church family only in geographic relation to cheap fuel!

Grace and Peace!
Emile