Invaluable friends

I know I'm told not to apologize for things I can't control or have no responsibility over, but sometimes I can't help it. So...
I'm sorry for getting sick this week.

Yep, I apologize for not washing my hands as much as I should, not avoiding grubby kids, and not screening my neighbors for potential viruses.

With all sincerity, it is a miserable feeling to be sick and helpless. My strep throat took over Friday night and the fever wouldn't let go until Monday morning when I finally gave up and went to the doctor. I assumed (erroneously) that I could handle this thing myself...and it killed me to have to ask for help.

So, as I lay in my quarantined room away from the kids and wife I might potentially infect (I'm told I should be safe to resume normal dad duties tomorrow), I am realizing what it means to trust and submit.

Our wonderful music director, Dorothy Clore, told me on Saturday, "Don't be ridiculous. Stay home Sunday. Ask Pastor Corey to fill in and take care of yourself. Get better and don't make yourself worse."

With much urging, I followed her advice and couldn't be more thankful. I am overwhelmingly thankful for Rev. Corey LeCureux's invaluable leadership and willingness to extend a hand of support across denominational lines once again. He is a blessing to this community and a cherished friend and colleague to me personally.

Why does it take so much for us to admit that we need help sometimes? Why are we so hesitant to admit when we cannot do all the things we want or think we wanted to accomplish? What is it about ourselves that drives us toward selfish actions that might otherwise be better accomplished by communal efforts?

The church is never meant to be a solo act. We serve, worship, pray, play, and act with, for, and by one another IN ADDITION to the Holy Spirit. I'm sorry it took this bout with a childhood illness to remind me of that lesson, but maybe that's what I needed.

You, the congregation of Church in the Hills, are called to serve according to God's will and support TOGETHER. We need to lean on one another when we are weak and lift one another up when we are strong. And through it all, let us not lose sight of the same Jesus Christ who holds us all up in a way that we never could ourselves apart from his grace.

I'm already feeling better.

Peace and grace (and thanks to my buddy, Corey),

Pastor Andrew Pomerville

Next Steps

I am extremely excited to announce that I have been accepted into the Doctor of Ministry program with a focus in Reformed Theology offered jointly by Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Before going any further, let me clarify that this degree is meant to be pursued and completed while working in a congregational setting, with cooperation between the local church, seminaries, and doctoral candidate to determine how this course of study will be mutually beneficial for all parties. I am delighted session has approved this move and I look forward to integrating my course work here at Church in the Hills through worship leadership, research, and the faithful following of our mission to be Christ’s church here in Bellaire.

A Doctorate of Ministry is the highest professional degree available for clergy and is meant to be completed through a combination of on-site classes and research/writing completed away from campus, culminating in a dissertation based on an element of focus in one’s home church. My time away from Church in the Hills will be limited to two weeks each January and August for the next four years, alternating classes between Pittsburgh and Aberdeen, Scotland, starting this August. Each session will require me to use one Sunday off from the congregation. In general, this degree will not require any additional study leave than is already allowed in my terms of call.

I am overwhelmingly excited to share news about this next step and would be happy to answer any questions, comments, or concerns you might have. I would like to again extend my thanks to the session for their willingness to support and encourage me as I pursue this doctoral degree over the next four to five years. I hope you will all be active participants in this process as a local committee is formed to help guide my course of study and offer suggestions for potential dissertation topics most helpful for the mission of Church in the Hills.

The next few years will be an exciting adventure and I could not be happier to be taking them with Church in the Hills.

Peace and grace to you,

Pastor Andrew Pomerville

Annual Report

2009 Pastor’s Annual Report
Fresh experiences of the Spirit open our eyes to new understandings and opportunities within the Body of Christ. The things we have seen, heard, and done this past year have helped us prepare for the year to come. When we talk about assessing our gifts in the Holy Spirit, we must always remember that these gifts are constantly being translated for the world around us. The Kingdom of God continues at all times and in all places, even when we see changes in everything.
Church in the Hills does not look like the same congregation it was one year ago and that can be a scary realization. I read someone who asserted recently that “very few of us are able to make changes gracefully, with style and ease, yet change comes…whether we like it or not.” The phrase “new normal” is often used to define these adaptations. When there is a birth, a death, a transition, any major event, we are not the same as we were before and we cannot try to recreate what we had. Instead, this new reality becomes our normal and we need to learn what that means.
Our congregation’s new normal is always focused on the transforming power of Jesus Christ. We are not the same church now because today we have different forces around us that we need to address. We have a new economy, a new community, new questions, new answers, and always changing view about the direction of our ministry. However, we must not lose sight of the one who is guiding and directing this providential road – the same loving God who has stood beside us in the past and who will stand beside us wherever we might go in the future.
Reading through this report, it is impossible not to take a kind of holy pride in the mission and calling the members of CITH have made real through God’s power – the community meals, the teen centers and new youth programs, the incredible increase in mission activities and giving, the explosion of participants in worship and fellowship, and the ever increasing presence of CITH in our community.
As we stop to catch our breath this January and consider where we have been, let us never forget we are called to continue moving forward. See where the Spirit is calling you this year, regardless of whether or not we have been there before. Be moved by God to show the grace of Jesus Christ in all we do and in all we say. And just maybe, we’ll follow that ever moving path with some sort of ease. Embrace that we are called into this journey with God.

Traveling alongside you in faith,

Rev. Andrew Pomerville

Complete Thanks

I’m thankful. I’m truly thankful.

After celebrating another wonderful Thanksgiving in Northern Michigan, I have to offer an early Christmas greeting of thanks to the whole Church in the Hills community. You really have no idea how utterly and totally thankful I am for the opportunity to serve as your pastor.

What I’ve learned and gained in my faith these past few years was only possible because of your continuing love, prayer, and concern for being all God has called you to be in this place. In the training and preparation seminary offered me before accepting this call, there was never enough mention about the growth I could expect through being surrounded and supported by people called to be a church.

And so, I offer my thanks again for allowing me the privilege to be your pastor. Thank you for teaching me grace, hospitality, service, community, and leadership. Thank you for pushing me, encouraging me, and inspiring me to use my gifts to show the gospel in my life and my ministry.
Thank you for helping me be the best pastor I can be through your patience, understanding, and willingness to be led, regardless of my experience. Thank you for inviting me into your lives to partner with you in your faith.

I daily give thanks for you in my prayers, but I rarely verbalize this thanksgiving directly to you. I know it shouldn’t take Thanksgiving or Christmas to spark this type of gratitude, but sometimes we need that extra reminder. Take the time this Advent to give thanks for those unsung heroes in your lives and pass along this note of thanks.
Again, I cannot express the joy I feel to be called to be your pastor and your friend.
Merry Christmas,

Pastor Andrew Pomerville

Health Care

The debate rages in the media, in the townhalls, in the homes, and hopefully, in the churches.

I think it is healthy for our churches to debate these issues because we can approach it from a different perspective and attitude than are expected in the rest of society.

Last week I enjoyed a discussion at our men's rap group (the group meets each Thursday at 9:00 am...no preparation necessary...just bring yourself) about the health care options that are being debated. This discussion was tempered by our common faith in Jesus Christ. The men around that table disagreed but they were able to speak openly without fear of condemnation. They understood that there is diversity of thought in the Body of Christ.

Too often, individuals will look for a church that already coincides with their social/political ethic, rather than their theology. We look for a place that we reinforce our beliefs, rather than challenge them.

Moreover, we approach God expecting to hear what we want to hear, rather than listening to what God wants to tell us.

In this issue, and in all issues, we need to come to God with a clean slate and be willing to be transformed, instead of wanting to transform God.

Rubber Ducky 5k Race a Sucess!

Thank you to all of the truly amazing volunteers who helped make this year's 5k such a wonderful event. We couldn't have done it without all of you. Check on the pictures on the right side of this web page and follow the link to see the race results. More pictures coming!

www.rubberducky5k.blogspot.com

We are not alone

In his 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Elie Wiesel said:
“There is much to be done, there is much that can be done. One person...one person of integrity, can make a difference, a difference of life and death. As long as one dissident is in prison, our freedom will not be true. As long as one child is hungry, our lives will be filled with anguish and shame. What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their voices are stifled we shall lend them ours, that while their freedom depends on ours, the quality of our freedom depends on theirs.”

Friends, we have a high call and responsibility from our Lord and Savior to be in solidarity with one another throughout all adversity, all strife, all hardship, and all brokenness. Because of the faith we have in Jesus Christ – a faith founded on love and forgiveness – we have been called to share the gospel of hope with our world. We need to recognize that this brokenness is all around us, in the lives of our neighbors, our friends, and in ourselves. And that is why we must never cease supporting, loving, and helping one another just as the Holy Spirit sustains, guides, and motivates us toward greater expressions of the love of God.

I am honored and so very proud of the great strides this congregation makes daily in pursuing this lofty mission put before us. We are brought together by the call of God, called worship our risen Savior with many voices united as one, and then sent from this congregation to live our faith in the world around us. This expression of realized faith is alive in the many mission and service activities in which you participate; and yet there is still more we can do.

We must never allow ourselves to become complacent in our spiritual journeys. Instead, we should always be looking ahead to how we can better strengthen our relationships within the Body of Christ, how we can reach out further into our community that we previously have, and how we can see Christ alive and calling us daily. Please look over the many ministry opportunities highlighted in this month’s newsletter, but do not be limited by what you see in this paper. Be even more vigilant in listening for God’s voice calling you toward new ministries of faith, hope, and love.

I daily give thanks for the faith and love that is alive and well in this congregation. Keep focused on this gracious gift offered by our Lord Jesus and seek to share it with the world over and over again.

Grace and peace to you,

Pastor Andrew Pomerville