Opportunities in the Mountains!

Good morning Trinity Tribe,

I hope you are all well! I am still dog tired but very grateful for my 3 block commute!

I have been selected for a wonderful opportunity that is wonderful for Trinity as well. The United Methodist Church runs a retreat and conference and support center for rural ministry in Hayesville, NC. The Hinton Rural Life Center will be a great place for us to do a church mission trip. They do a Habitat for Humanity type mission program where we would go in and repair or build homes for people in poverty in the Appalachian Mountains along with having Bible study and lots of fun. They also hold many workshops to support pastors, especially those in rural communities. One of the projects they administer, thanks to a Lily Foundation Grant, is to support new pastors in smaller churches. This project is a continuing education program aimed at developing and sustaining effective pastoral leadership in the small membership church. I was nominated and then selected to participate. I am very excited about the opportunity! It will help me be a more effective pastor for Trinity. Trainers from Hinton will also come visit us here in Red Springs! They will come and help us with our long-range planning for how we will minister to Red Springs for the decades to come. And to top it off, the continuing education, on-site visit, travel, meals etc. is practically free for the church thanks to the Lily grant. Hooray for bargains!

I am thrilled to be a part of this both for my personal growth as well as for Trinity! It does mean that I will be out of town from Monday morning to Thursday evening six times over the next 30 months. The first week is next week. If you have a pastoral emergency, please call. I will have our friends over at the Baptist and Presbyterian churches on standby if you need immediate assistance. The next session is at the end of October.

In Colossians 3:15-17 the author writes, "Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way." I pray that this opportunity will help me be in tune with you and you with me as well as help all of us be in tune with Red Springs. Please pray for me that I learn what I need to learn in this process. And please pray for the four of us as we travel.

By the way, Hinton Rural Life Center has great facilities if you want an inexpensive mountain vacation or to host a mountain family reunion as well. So here is their website, if you would like any more information: http://www.hintoncenter.org/