Safe, Sound, Whole, Well

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One of the great analysts of human behavior was named Theodor Geisel. Some of you know the name by which he is primarily known—a hint: his middle name was Seuss. Yes, Dr. Seuss, that writer of children’s books, demonstrated great insight and communicated it in wonderfully humorous ways. In one of my favorites, which is 70 years old this year, Horton Hears a Who, there is an elephant named Horton. Of course, elephants have large ears, so Horton can hear that which others could not, which in this case were the cries of distress from microscopic beings who lived on a speck of dust. Once the large elephant discovers the existence of these tiny Whos, he shows he also has a large heart and takes responsibility for their well-being, placing the speck on which all of Whoville exists on a soft clover.

But as Horton the elephant begins to express his concerns for the Whos, the other animals, not wanting to be bothered by such a possibility, begin to ridicule him for his belief that these beings merit any attention or care. These animals exaggerate their behaviors that hurt the Whos as they express their incredulity that someone believes such small matters matter. They were more interested in what was convenient and what they thought made their lives better than what was right and fair. At one point in the story, Horton finds the clover on which the Whos live after the other animals had hidden it, and with great relief and urgency, he cries out: “My friends! Tell me! Do tell! Are you safe? Are you sound? Are you whole? Are you well?”1

The Hebrew word, ‘shalom,’ found in scripture, generally gets translated as ‘peace.’ But shalom is much more than that – it is a reality where all are safe, sound, whole, well, as indicated by our friend, Horton. Bryn Mawr Presbyterian is blessed to have staff who seek to express concern for our members’ well-being. All five pastors meet weekly to talk confidentially about the pastoral needs of folks within the congregation and how to show appropriate love and care. We also email and text one another with updates in between our meetings. We have on staff a half-time nurse, Carol Cherry, and a half-time social worker, Kathryn West, who provide physical, mental, and spiritual health and well-being resources. We also have our Middleton Counseling Center led by Director Kiki McKendrick, with 13 therapists and two spiritual directors, which offer counseling and support groups. There are laypeople involved in various ways that also seek to reflect God’s care on concerns, large or small. All these staff and lay people work to enable the membership and beyond to be safe, sound, whole, and well.

We realize there are times when those four words do not describe how individual lives are going. If you ever lose a loved one or a job, if you are facing a health or a relationship crisis, if you or someone you know has suffered abuse or a chemical dependency, or if you are facing financial constraints or legal charges, you can trust someone on the caring team with sensitive information. A person or team could walk you through a challenging time, referring you to helping agencies as appropriate. Contact info is on the website for each part of the caring team. So, like Horton says, “My friends! Tell me! Do tell! Are you safe? Are you sound? Are you whole? Are you well?” When someone is not safe, sound, whole, or well, we, like Horton, plead, “Our friends! Tell us! Do tell!” so we can seek to respond in ways not just reflecting Horton’s care, but what goes beyond that with God’s care.

1 Theodor Seuss Geisel, Horton Hears a Who!, Random House, 1954.

Big Shoes to Fill

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One of the great delights of moving back from a faraway place is reconnecting with old friends and discovering that they’re even better than I remember. High on that list for me are some dear friends who serve as the Presbyterian chaplains at Princeton University. While visiting a local bakery, they shared some difficult stories of the spring semester, fraught with campus protests, and about their desire as chaplains to live up to their students. “Huh,” I thought and returned to my cannoli cronut, thinking mainly of how good it was to return to a land of reliably good bougie pastries.

Shortly after that, I received a call from a young clergywoman, who was entering her first call, asking if I would consider working with her as a coach. I hesitated, thinking I had nothing to offer until I realized that, when I was her age, I looked to people my age now for mentorship and coaching just as she was doing with me. I had been looking for people to live up to. Cue the mid-life crisis… and then commit to being the best coach I can be for her.

And, amid all this, there were providential conversations with BMPC about the position of Interim Associate Pastor for Youth & Their Families. I’ve been so impressed with the other pastors, lay leaders, Youth Council members, and families. However, in my short time in this position, the youth of BMPC have impressed me the most. They are committed to environmental justice, showing deep compassion to others, stepping into leadership positions, and taking risks. During the week with 15 middle and high schoolers from BMPC at the Montreat Youth Conference, my friends’ insights from the spring semester hit me anew. So often, we think we need to live up to the ones who came before us, but isn’t it the task of a college chaplain to live up to the students, the task of a coach to live up to the person being coached, and the task of a youth pastor to live up to the youth in their care? Likewise, I would add that the task of an interim is to live up to the person soon to be called to the permanent position.

This will be my approach to being your Interim Associate Pastor for Youth & Their Families. I’m looking forward to getting to know you!

Blessing the Backpacks

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It is practically sacrosanct and probably bordering on sacrilegious, but every August, I have a lemming-like need to walk the school supply aisles. Stacks of composition books speak to stories yet to be written. Planners promise an organized and efficient year ahead. Boxes of crayons and colored pencils are brimming with possibility. I even appreciate the calculators, protractors, and graph paper that tell me any problem can be solved. Walking the aisles, I see families pouring over lists, arguing over decisions, and digging through piles to find the last green college rule spiral ring notebook. I know that within a few hours of the first school bell, the best-laid plans will start to change. Planners will be filled and overfilled. Crayons will be lost and broken in the process of creating art. Calculators will prove frustrating and protractors dangerous. And those composition books? They will be filled with notes and essays and maybe even a few stories that need to be told. The year will be messy, complicated, and beautiful because people are all those things.

This Sunday, following worship, we will bless backpacks. The weather report indicates we might need to move inside, but regardless, we will gather and ask God to bless each backpack—but more importantly, the child who will carry it. This blessing is a pause in a busy season where we remind children of God’s presence with them. That along with all the tools they have purchased and all the resources they have packed away, we remember that God, too, will be with them at the start of the year. We whisper the promise that God will be there in the messy moments, the complicated ones, the difficult ones, and the beautiful ones alike. In doing so, we remind ourselves that God, too, goes with us, with or without our backpacks.

A Prayer for Backpacks

God bless this backpack and the child who carries it. Bless the grown-ups who help pack it and teachers who help fill it. Bless the bus drivers who transport it, the custodians who clean around it, the librarians who add to it, and the friends who recognize it. Fill this backpack with things unseen: with love and hope, with forgiveness and fortitude, with joy and patience. Be as close to this child as their backpack, resting lightly upon their shoulders and present with them no matter what they may face. Bless, Oh Lord, this backpack and the child who carries it.

Welcome Andy Greenhow to Youth Ministry!

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As we launched a search to find an Interim Associate Pastor for Youth and their Families, dare I say that when we became aware that the Reverend Andy Greenhow was moving back to the area, it felt providential.

Many folks at BMPC know Andy from his time at Broad Street Ministries in downtown Philadelphia, where he served as pastor, administrator, educator, and coordinator of the youth groups on mission and summer immersion trips.

For the past eight years, he has served at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary working as Special Projects Manager and more recently in the President’s office as Chief of Staff. His administrative leadership at the seminary also gave him opportunities for pastoral care for students, preaching in chapel and supply preaching in the presbytery, coordinating special trips, and supporting a Lilly Endowment project in Pittsburgh presbytery by coaching congregations in how to reimagine using their sacred spaces.

When Andy’s wife, the Reverend Karen Rohrer, was called to be the Associate Academic Dean at Princeton Theological Seminary, Andy was exploring his opportunities for ministry while we were looking for an experienced interim to work with our youth and their families. An initial conversation with Rachel Pedersen and me led to Andy’s meeting with BMPC’s leaders of the Youth Ministry Council, parents, and youth. A call to this important work was extended and accepted, and the next thing you know, Andy was on a bus with a crowd of BMPC youth heading to the Montreat Youth Conference!

The Session has called a Congregational Meeting for this Sunday to elect the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee for Youth and their Families, who will begin their search in the coming weeks. In the meantime, how grateful we are that God has led us to Andy Greenhow! We are enthusiastic about the experience, gifts, commitment, and joy he brings to the good work of youth ministry at BMPC.

“Canticles of Praise”

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Recording a CD of favorite hymns and anthems has been a conversation Pastor Rachel and I had been in discussion about a year or two before the pandemic, and our Wednesdays Together program was slowly working its way toward having the numbers and confidence to make it happen.

Though the years following the pandemic have resulted in smaller choirs, the children and youth involved are completely dedicated to our weekly rehearsals, where we come together in community and song. This past fall, it became my goal to ensure that the recording finally happened sometime during the 2023-24 program year, and it did.

“Canticles of Praise” is the culmination of years of working with these groups, with support from staff members, families, leaders, helpers, and all those involved in the Beginners Choir, Children’s Choir, and Youth Chorale ensembles of BMPC.

It was a great joy for me to see the children and youth making music on their own and together, with the support of four of the Sanctuary Choir’s talented Staff Singers. Two of these singers, Kara Goodrich and Jeffrey Wilber, have a special connection to our church. Kara, a child of this church, and Jeffrey, who has been a Staff Singer for forty years and raised his three children as church members, are integral to this recording.

Recordings are a snapshot in time, and this snapshot will always prove to me that a dream is possible—but not without the support and help of everyone who came together to make that dream happen.

If you’re interested in a copy of “Canticles of Praise,” please contact the Music and Fine Arts Department. The CDs are available with a freewill donation towards the Tour Fund for the Sanctuary Choir’s trip to France in June of 2025.