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Reflections
Messages from Roy Spore to his Whitesboro congregation:
From the pastor...
“Everything
changes” I said. “Yeah, but I don’t like change!” she said in response.
As you have figured out, we were talking about the fact that I was leaving and a
new pastor was coming (that seems to be the popular topic these days … go
figure!) The conversation prompted me to do some serious reflecting on
“change.” I guess that I, too, am a bit resistant to change. The older I get
the more comfortable I become in the routine, ordinary rhythm of life. That’s
not to say that resistance to change is a product of the aging process; I know
some folks much younger than I am who are just as comfortable with their lives
and don’t want to face change any more than I do. But in my case, I have
noticed that my comfort with routine has increased over the years. Maybe that’s
why I have taken the opportunity for reflection. Here is where my thinking is
right now. Change happens. The inevitability of change is undeniable.
Sometimes change happens because of our own will and sometimes it happens beyond
our control. That pretty much leaves us with two choices. We can resist change
by denying it, postponing it or pretending that it doesn’t happen or we can
embrace it. It the case of the first option, we become victims of change; in
the latter, we are the masters of it. I can’t speak for you, but I don’t like
being a victim, so that really only leaves me one option. In that regard, then,
I recall a passage that has been dear to me for decades, from the third chapter
of Ecclesiastes. You may remember that this passage begins with “For
everything, there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” It
was written by a man who faced the end of his life, when everything was changing
around him and he felt out of control. He finally came to a realization: life
changed, but the love of God remained constant; and in all of the change, God
was present. Therefore, the best that he could do in life was to love God,
embrace his family, and trust the ever changing seasons of life as a gift from
God. That sounds like pretty sage advice to me. Like change? No, I guess we
don’t have to like it. Embrace change as a gift from God that renews us and
leads us to new life? Absolutely! I’m trusting God that the best is yet to
be! How about you?
Grace and peace,
Roy
1.9.08
Sunday was a bit
of a hard day for me. I think I can be fair in saying that through the joy of
the holidays and the anticipation of Angela’s wedding, our move to Decatur was
placed toward the back of our priority list. Although we were very much aware
of the change about to take place, other things were more pressing and we did
not dwell on it that much. Then came Sunday. As I looked into the faces of
those coming to receive communion, faces that I know well and with whom I have
shared wonderful relationships, it dawned on me that this was the last time I
would serve communion in this setting and to you, my good and dear friends in
ministry. That’s when the grief began to set in, really for the first time
since this whole episode began. Grief is interesting. It is our longing for
what once was, knowing that it is gone. It comes when something dear to us is
taken away. Sometimes grief is most evident in our self-centeredness: we focus
on what has been taken from us or what our life will be without what we have
lost. However, grief can also be the expression of love: a sense of compassion
for the other and the loss of a relationship. It is in this latter sense of
grief that we find ourselves now, in the midst of a relationship that will be
forever changed. In a few short weeks I will no longer be your pastor (though I
will always be your friend). Our lives will part and I will miss the
relationship that we have had over the last fifteen years. There is a part of
me that will die when I move, and I know that there is a part of you that will
also die with me. Yet, we are an Easter people. Beyond death, we live in the
promise of new life and this new life is even greater than what we have
previously known. I am honored to hand the reigns of leadership to my friend
Jack Wallace, knowing that he will love you as I have and that your life
together will bring joy, prosperity and new faith. From the pain of our grief,
God will raise us up to new life. This is resurrection and God brings it to us
as surely as the dawn on Easter morn. So, while I feel the pain of separation,
I anticipate the new life that God is already bringing to us all in the days
ahead. What comes in the moment as pain will be transformed to glory and our
grief will be changed into joy. Therefore, I invite you to join me in a time
of hope. Pray for me and my family as we begin a new ministry; I am praying for
you. Pray for new beginnings, new hope, new friends. Pray for Jack and Marlane
as they prepare to minister among you. Pray for God’s Kingdom to be made
manifest in Whitesboro in this new day. “Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
who with His love doth befriend thee.”
Grace and Peace,
Roy
  
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