First Sunday Reflections

Well, the first one is under my belt.  My first Sunday as the lead pastor at Catawba UMC.  I was nervous about the service (not the sermon) and wondered if I would have a clue about what I was doing.  Turns out, the people of Catawba UMC are full of grace and understood even when I didn't do things exactly as they were probably used to. 

It was such a neat experience to have two worlds come together.  I met people at Catawba for the first time and had friends from Good Shepherd (the church I came from) attend to support me for my first service.  Like the old addage (yes its cliche' and a little cheesy) says: make new friends and keep the old.  It was equally great to see familiar faces in the congregations along with the possibilities of new relationships that I hope will last a lifetime.

After the service we had lunch with friends from Good Shepherd, relaxed then attended a July 4th cookout at the house of a family at Catawba.  It was nice to hang with people from the church and see our girls enjoy the fireworks.

It was a good, long, celebratory and exhausting day.  A day I would do all over again if I had the chance!