Through a Glass Darkly—by Rev. Chase Peeples
What a great day Sunday was for me! The installation service was wonderful! The beautiful music of our choir along with that sang by our congregation still rings in my ears. So do the words of praise and encouragement that were given to me by those participating in the service. The reception afterwards was beautiful and the food delicious (I’m still eating cake leftovers). The time in our fellowship hall and social room was a blessing for it allowed me to have an intimate time with family, friends, former First Christian ministers and folks from area churches. (The members of the Congregational Life Committee deserve special thanks.) It was a humbling and exciting afternoon.
You need not worry about me getting a big head after having so many nice things said about me. I have a loving wife and children to help me keep things in perspective. One can only feel so important while changing a dirty diaper (which I did as soon as we got home). Or maybe a better way of putting it is one realizes his or her true importance only when they are doing things like changing a baby’s diaper.
I was so very pleased to have all the members of the search committee who were able to be at the service participate in it. This group of people sold me on the church and through their insightful questions and response to my answers, I gained a helpful and I think accurate picture of First Christian Church’s strengths and weaknesses. Chairperson Creath Thorne and committee members Brenda Hines, Emma Jean Neudorff, Janet Pullen, Dave Tushaus and Kristin White were the faces of First Christian that I encountered first through phone calls and letters and then later in our face-to-face interviews. Beginning with my first phone call with Creath and then through conversations with the other committee members, I felt an immediate and electric connection with these folks and through them with the other members of this church. That connection remains and I feel it was demonstrated this past Sunday afternoon. I will always be grateful to the six of them.
As I said in the service and have shared before, I felt that First Christian would be the right church for me for several reasons. First, it is a congregation that takes seriously Jesus’ commands to meet the physical and spiritual needs of others—most especially those on the margins of society. Ministries like the Jamaica mission trip, the Royal Family Kids Camp, Open Door Food Kitchen and others demonstrated to me this church’s commitment to caring for “the least of these.”
Second, I was gratified to know that this church has chosen to remain a downtown church, not only to remain in its historic and beautiful building, but also to minister to the people that live in this community. Even though First Christian members live in a variety of places around St. Joseph, this church has chosen to stake a claim downtown and to accept all of the challenges and blessings that come from being a part of a changing and often impoverished area.
Third, when I came last fall, I asked people, “Why did you join First Christian and why have you remained a member?” Again and again, the answer was something like “because First Christian is like a family.” Families can be exclusive and inward-looking caring only for themselves, but they can also be open to others, always having room at their table for one more person in need of a nourishing meal. I believed strongly enough to move my family here that First Christian is the second kind of family, the open kind. I still believe it today now that I am officially installed as your minister.
After the installation, many people said to me, “Well, you’re ours now. There’s no going back.” To which I replied, “There’s no going back for you either. This installation does not come with a refund or exchange policy.” Thankfully, I do not anticipate a trip to the customer service counter for either you as a church or me as your minister. I have said it many times and I really do mean it: I am very optimistic about the future of First Christian Church. I believe that God has a special role for our church and that God will use us to provide something unique to our community and the world. My hope and prayer is that together we may have the courage to respond with joy to all the good things God will work through us, even if—maybe especially if—those things demand much on our parts. Whatever the cost to us may be, I believe the rewards of God’s grace and love will be far greater.
May our loving Creator and Sustainer continue to bless First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in St. Joseph, MO.
Grace and Peace,
Chase
What a great day Sunday was for me! The installation service was wonderful! The beautiful music of our choir along with that sang by our congregation still rings in my ears. So do the words of praise and encouragement that were given to me by those participating in the service. The reception afterwards was beautiful and the food delicious (I’m still eating cake leftovers). The time in our fellowship hall and social room was a blessing for it allowed me to have an intimate time with family, friends, former First Christian ministers and folks from area churches. (The members of the Congregational Life Committee deserve special thanks.) It was a humbling and exciting afternoon.
You need not worry about me getting a big head after having so many nice things said about me. I have a loving wife and children to help me keep things in perspective. One can only feel so important while changing a dirty diaper (which I did as soon as we got home). Or maybe a better way of putting it is one realizes his or her true importance only when they are doing things like changing a baby’s diaper.
I was so very pleased to have all the members of the search committee who were able to be at the service participate in it. This group of people sold me on the church and through their insightful questions and response to my answers, I gained a helpful and I think accurate picture of First Christian Church’s strengths and weaknesses. Chairperson Creath Thorne and committee members Brenda Hines, Emma Jean Neudorff, Janet Pullen, Dave Tushaus and Kristin White were the faces of First Christian that I encountered first through phone calls and letters and then later in our face-to-face interviews. Beginning with my first phone call with Creath and then through conversations with the other committee members, I felt an immediate and electric connection with these folks and through them with the other members of this church. That connection remains and I feel it was demonstrated this past Sunday afternoon. I will always be grateful to the six of them.
As I said in the service and have shared before, I felt that First Christian would be the right church for me for several reasons. First, it is a congregation that takes seriously Jesus’ commands to meet the physical and spiritual needs of others—most especially those on the margins of society. Ministries like the Jamaica mission trip, the Royal Family Kids Camp, Open Door Food Kitchen and others demonstrated to me this church’s commitment to caring for “the least of these.”
Second, I was gratified to know that this church has chosen to remain a downtown church, not only to remain in its historic and beautiful building, but also to minister to the people that live in this community. Even though First Christian members live in a variety of places around St. Joseph, this church has chosen to stake a claim downtown and to accept all of the challenges and blessings that come from being a part of a changing and often impoverished area.
Third, when I came last fall, I asked people, “Why did you join First Christian and why have you remained a member?” Again and again, the answer was something like “because First Christian is like a family.” Families can be exclusive and inward-looking caring only for themselves, but they can also be open to others, always having room at their table for one more person in need of a nourishing meal. I believed strongly enough to move my family here that First Christian is the second kind of family, the open kind. I still believe it today now that I am officially installed as your minister.
After the installation, many people said to me, “Well, you’re ours now. There’s no going back.” To which I replied, “There’s no going back for you either. This installation does not come with a refund or exchange policy.” Thankfully, I do not anticipate a trip to the customer service counter for either you as a church or me as your minister. I have said it many times and I really do mean it: I am very optimistic about the future of First Christian Church. I believe that God has a special role for our church and that God will use us to provide something unique to our community and the world. My hope and prayer is that together we may have the courage to respond with joy to all the good things God will work through us, even if—maybe especially if—those things demand much on our parts. Whatever the cost to us may be, I believe the rewards of God’s grace and love will be far greater.
May our loving Creator and Sustainer continue to bless First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in St. Joseph, MO.
Grace and Peace,
Chase
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