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the FISH
July / August 2008 “. . .ask for the ancient paths where the good way lies; walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16
I was at a Presbytery Meeting a couple weeks back - not my favorite meeting to go to - but I was glad I went. We received the final report from the Transition Team within the Presbytery that was charged with the task of assessing what direction the Presbytery needs to be heading in. It was a long report - 22 pages - again, not my favorite thing to read long reports. One idea though stuck out to me, an idea that I have been thinking about a lot since that meeting - that idea is the real reason I was glad I went to that Presbytery meeting. The idea was the difference between Technical Work and Adaptive Work. These terms come from Ronald Heifetz, a professor of leadership at Harvard University. As I understand it, Technical Work has to do with the regular day to day work that needs to be done in any organization. Technical work is maintenance - it is paying the bills, making phone calls, going through the mail - every organization ( including the church) has a need for some Technical Work. Adaptive Work on the other hand is the work of trying something new - thinking outside the box - responding to the needs of the organization or the people affected by the organization. Adaptive work is finding new ways of doing things that are more in tune with what is needed or desired within an organization or the people affected by the organization. Every organization (including the church) if they desire to grow and remain vital in what they provide has a need for some Adaptive Work. The question seems to be, what is the balance? In our case, how much of the work that we do as Penningtonville Church needs to be devoted to Technical Work and how much needs to be Adaptive Work? What is the balance between Technical Work and Adaptive Work for our Board of Deacons or our Session? What is the balance of Technical Work and Adaptive Work for our Ministry Teams and Committees? Do we just keep on doing the same things because it is easier just to do what we know (Technical Work) or are we always seeking new and different ways of reaching out and displaying the love of Jesus to the community (Adaptive Work) ? Sometimes I think the church can get stuck just doing Technical Work - get so busy just doing Technical Work that there is little time or energy left for Adaptive Work. Technical Work is easier because we know what we are getting in to - we have been there before. Adaptive Work though takes creativity - a willingness to go where we have never gone before - a willingness to be open to what could be. I have begun to evaluate the work that I do as Pastor of Penningtonville Church, and am looking at the balance in the work that I do between Technical and Adaptive Work. Both are necessary - but what is the balance between the two? In what ways can Penningtonville do more Adaptive Work as a way of reaching our community, serving our neighbors, sharing God’s love with others? In what ways can our Deacons and Session, our Ministry Teams and Committees do more Adaptive Work? In what ways can I do more Adaptive Work in the ministry I provide? Let me know what you think. Blessings, Jason
Feeding the Spirit . . .
“Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16 My new favorite verse! In Nepal, sometimes our trail was very obvious but sometimes when it was over the rocks of a glacier moraine we had to stand on tip toe and look ahead to see where the trail led; sometimes there were multiple trails and we had to ask if we were going in the right direction; and sometimes the trail disappeared all together and our Sherpa Pasang had to scout ahead to find it again. I find I stand at the crossroads every day: my path is rocky, dusty, or has disappeared altogether. If I wake-up happy and peppy, inevitably someone says or does something that immediately finds my goat where it’s tied and not only lets it go but chases it around the block. If I wake-up feeling blue, the ’blueness’ can be tough to shake off - sometimes it even feels good in a perverse sort of way. The old crossroad . . . When I stand at the crossroad and look, what I see in the first instance is aggravation, irritation, anger, high blood pressure. In the second instance I see the world through a grey haze, smog —nothing is clear except that the sun is not shining, it is hard to put one foot in front of the other and the mouse on my shoulder pops up to remind me of all the negative images I have of my Self and just how true they really are. If I only look at what appears to be reality, I will be like Hagar who could not see the well of refreshment because of her tears of distress. This verse reminds me there is another option. When I stand at the crossroad and look and see the anger, the irritation, the blueness, I need to ask for the ‘ancient paths where the good way lies’. Those ancient, dusty trails molded into the earth by the myriads of feet who have traveled this way before me; the feet of those who learned to trust God while plodding through their deepest darkest valleys as well as when they climbed to the highest mountain tops. The feet of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel, Mary, Thomas, and Paul. The feet of the desert fathers and mothers. The feet of the Reformers like Luther, Calvin, John Wesley, John Newton, Wilbur Wilberforce. The feet of modern saints like Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Henri Nowen, Thomas Merton. All of these traveled the ancient paths - the paths laid out by God through his Word, both written and in the person of Jesus the Christ.
Jeremiah’s words remind me to not only ask for the ancient path but to then walk in it. Paths are not made by feet that stand still. The feet of each of my heroes formed the trail ahead of me, as with Abraham, by rising up early in the morning and walking to their Mt. Moriah. They moved forward trusting God’s Word, resting in the promises. How do I walk along the ancient paths? Two ways work for sure: 1) Read God’s Word daily. Read for a few minutes or a few hours; read with a commentary at hand; read prayerfully; read for enjoyment; read for comfort. Read until the words saturate your soul. 2) Pray without ceasing. When first awake, turn your day over to God; before you close your eyes at night, review the day with God; during all of the in-between minutes and hours, turn every decision over to God. (Much to the amusement of the home group, I even turn my choice of Christmas presents over to God!). By saturating one’s soul with the Word of God, he becomes less of a stranger and more of the constant friend. . . always there, always at the periphery of my vision and consciousness so that when the crossroads appear the path is more clearly discernable. Do I always make the good choice? No! Do I struggle to turn over my anger and irritation and my blues to God? Yes! But I am finding that the more consistent I am with desiring to walk the ancient pathways the easier it becomes. God honors our desiring. In that honoring of our desiring, of our reaching out to God for help, he brings rest for our souls and we experience the ‘peace that passeth understanding’. The trails of Nepal have become for me a metaphor of this verse. The trails that we traveled were often so steep and dusty and long that I was driven to tears of exhaustion, and I prayed for eagles wings to carry me to the top. What I received was the presence of God giving me the strength and courage to walk the path to the summit one step at a time and the sure knowledge that all of the trails in my life can be traveled in the same way… one step at a time, hand-in-hand with God. Alyce
Congratulations! Kudos! Job well done! Congratulations and best wishes to the following young ladies who donned their white caps and gowns this past June and crossed the Octorara High School stage to receive their diplomas: Megan Brown, Kaitlyn Johnstone, Jennie Lasak and Lisa Richardson. All four have been accepted at colleges for September to continue their studies. If you went by the church in early June you would have noticed rather large strawberries sprouting up on the lawn. Thank you to Ron Shertzer for the carpentry work and Maria Kay for the wonderful paint job! The strawberries were a delightful way to announce the Deacons’ Annual Strawberry Festival. Phil & Lisa Rudisill deserve a standing ovation! If you have participated in the Praise and Prayer time before Sunday School each week you will know what I mean. The amount of time and effort they put forth in preparation is eminently clear each Sunday morning from the PowerPoint projecting the songs and memory verse to the enthusiastic participation they elicit from the children. Thank you Phil and Lisa!! Heartfelt thanks to Ron Shertzer for volunteering to do the Children’s Talk one Sunday when we were ‘left in the lurch’. Things come up to keep us from “being there” - what is special this time is that Ron spoke up and volunteered to fill-in… taking the pressure off Amy to find a replacement. Thank you Ron! And, a special thank you to Brian & Donna Norris for opening their home to the Camp Donegal Bikers. Before the rain came with the accompanying thunder and lightening, the campers from Donegal had a great time cooling off in the pool and then enjoyed dinner prepared in the great Norris tradition. What a wonderful opportunity for these young people! Tube-o-Quarters for the Heifer Project: Keep collecting those quarters and dropping them into the ‘tube’. We’re about half-way there! What a great way to help others around the world!! (The tube is located by the window at the foot of the stairs leading up to the sanctuary). Coming this Fall: A NEW Pictorial Church Directory! We will be working with a new photographer this time - Always & Forever Photography. Perhaps you have noticed different groups posing before the ever-present camera—the new Directory will allow for up to TEN pages of pictures of our groups and activities such as the strawberry festival, VBS, Sunday School classes, The Pearls, the morning prayer group, etc. There will also be room for pictures of US… all of us! The picture-taking dates have been confirmed: September 22, 23, 24 from noon to 9 p.m. each day. Once summer is on the wane and the children are beginning to look for the school bus once again, we will post sign-up sheets. Our goal is to have a picture of EVERYONE in the Directory. See you in September! The Membership & Outreach Ministry Team Imagine that . . . “The greatest crisis of our lives is neither economic, intellectual, nor even what we usually call religious. It is a crisis of imagination. We get stuck on our paths because we are unable to re-imagine our lives differently from what they are right now. We hold on desperately to the status quo, afraid that if we let go, we will be swept away by the torrential undercurrents of our emptiness. The most important thing in the world. . . is to be willing to give up who you are for who you might become”. “Find your risk and you will find your self”. True wisdom is to change your life from where you are, through the power of imagination. “The first of the Ten commandments is “I am the Lord thy God.’ When this God is asked to identify himself, He responds, ‘I will be what I will be.’ That is, ‘You cannot capture me in the frozen image of any time or place. To do so would be to destroy me.’ It would be to violate the Second Commandment, against idolatry. Idolatry is the freezing of God in a static image. To freeze God in an image is to violate the invitation of the imagination. It is to limit possibility”. Selected from Parabola , Fall 2006 issue, pp 37, 38, 40
July Birthdays: 1 Joan Lawrence 2 Dawn MacDonald 4 Lisa Dreibelbis 5 Steve Kauffman 9 Tracy Slider 9 Kurt Thompson Sr. 9 David Walter 10 Dave Thompson 10 Connor Wilson 11 Adam Rudisill 11 David Rudisill 11 Michael Rudisill 12 Ann Winnemore 14 Ellen Greenfield 17 Sue Benner 17 Gene George 18 Sandy Simmons 21 Michael Ruczhak 22 Kristopher Thompson 23 Megan Lambert 23 Justin Stefanosky 23 Bonnie Tennant 24 Bill MacCauley 26 John Barcus 27 Brittany Thompson 29 Brad Mosteller 31 Terry Johnstone July Anniversaries: 14 Jason & Krista Link 14 Brad & Amy Mosteller 19 Frank & Jan Lasak 24 Kurt & Danise Thompson 27 Jack & Linda Rice 28 Howard & Sue Benner AND, a very special anniversary: July 1st marks the 4th anniversary of Jason’s ministry among us! My July Baptism Day: 8th– Isabell Link 11th—Connor Wilson 31st—Andrew MacDonald
August Birthdays:1 Brittney Barcus 1 Ken Wilson 2 Bill Netting 4 Dave Cole 7 Catherine Lasak 8 Ilene Franklin 12 Owen Link 12 Kristen Stefanosky 12 John Walter 14 Scott Richards 15 John Winnemore 16 Bob Unverzagt 18 Linda Walter 22 Kyle MacCauley 25 Amanda Balistreri 26 Ruth McManus 26 Donna Norris 27 Krista Link Our August Anniversaries: 14 Dave & Becky Troop My August Baptism Day: 4th– Alex Achenbach 14th– Jerry Troop 18th– Abby Achenbach 18th– Luke Thompson 25th– Stefanie Nuse 25th– Kurt Thompson Jr. 26th– Ross Cochran
What’s happening on those lazy, hazy days of July & August: Every Sunday through July & August: Join us for the Adult Sunday School Class from 8:45 a.m.—9:30 a.m. and stay for worship @ 9:55 a.m. Friday, July 4: Independence Day— Celebrate!!!
Sunday, July 6: We rejoice in Jason’s 4th Anniversary of ministering among us! Saturday, July 19: Ice Cream Social in support of Autism Speaks; 2:00—4:00 p.m. Sunday, July 20: National Ice Cream Day!!! August is . . . National Happiness Happens month - Each day give thanks for a ‘random act of happiness’ that you experienced that day! Monday, August 4—11th: Jason on vacation Wednesday, August 13: 7th Annual Pink Flamingo Day! Gather the flock and celebrate!! Just because it’s fun! Wednesday, August 20: Sunday School teachers meet, 6:30 p.m. The No Excuse Sunday: (from a long-ago Ann Landers column)
1. Cots will be placed in the vestibule for those who say, “Sunday is my only day for sleeping in.” 2. Eye drops will be available for those whose eyes are tired from watching TV too late on Saturday night. 3. We will have steel helmets for those who believe the roof will cave in if they show up for church services. 4. Blankets will be furnished for those who complain that the church is too cold. Fans will be on hand for those who say it is too hot. 5. We will have hearing aids for those who say, ‘The pastor talks too softly”. There will be cotton for those who say he is too loud. 6. Scorecards will be available for those who wish to count the hypocrites present. 7. Relatives will be in attendance for those who like to go visiting on Sunday. 8. TV dinners will be available for those who claim they can’t go to church and cook dinner too. 9. One section of the church will have some trees and grass for those who see God in nature, especially on the golf course. 10. The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who have never seen the church without them. Just for a chuckle! There was a special ecumenical weekend planned for elementary school-age children. Each participant was asked to bring something representative of their particular religion. The little Moslem boy brought his father’s prayer rug. The Jewish girl brought the family menorah. The Catholic boy brought his mother’s rosary. The Baptist twins brought their Bibles and the Presbyterian girl brought . . . a covered dish!
From the ol’ bookshelf: Two books. . . both reinforce the truth that “we must be the change we want to see in the world” (Gandhi) . The first book, The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music, by Steve Lopez is a wonderful story of two men who change each other’s lives. Steve Lopez is a journalist who writes columns for the Lost Angeles Times and Anthony Ayers was a student at Julliard thirty years before Steve discovered him playing Beethoven's Eighth in the Second Street tunnel on a two-string violin. What began as grist for a few newspaper columns became an unlikely friendship. “I’m on foot in downtown Los Angeles, hustling back to the office with another deadline looming. That’s when I see him. He’s dressed in rags on a busy downtown street corner, playing Beethoven on a battered violin that looks like it’s been pulled from a dumpster. He is black, just beyond fifty, with butterscotch eyes. . . He is standing next to a shopping cart heaped over with all his belongings, and yet despite grubby, soiled clothing, there’s a rumpled elegance about him. . . Back in the office I sweat out another column, scan the mail and clear the answering machine. I make a note on the yellow legal pad where I keep a list of possibilities. Violin Man. It’s got potential. Who knows where it will go?” A musical prodigy, Anthony had been at Julliard for two years when his world was destroyed by the onslaught of paranoid schizophrenia. He wandered from New York, back to his hometown of Cleveland and then on to Los Angeles. When he discovered the statue of Beethoven in a corner of Pershing Square, Anthony knew he was ‘home’ - even though home was anywhere on the street where he could lay his head and guard his shopping cart. When Steve Lopez met Anthony, the newspaper world was beginning to shrink and he was restless and full of doubts as to his future. Not only did the chance meeting with Anthony provide provocative columns but it provided Steve with a sense of purpose: encouraging Anthony with his music, helping him to reestablish contact with his family, seeking mental health assistance for him, and getting him to move off the streets and into a safe haven. For each triumph, there was crushing disappointment—and then, triumph again, for two very different men. Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail by Paul Polak demonstrates that once again, an individual with a different way of looking at the world can make a world of difference. An entrepreneur, inventor and self-identified ‘troublemaker’, the author tells why mainstream poverty eradication programs have fallen so sadly short and how he and his organization developed an alternative approach that has already succeeded in lifting 17 million people out of poverty. What began as a conversation to find out why Joe, a homeless man in Denver, lived on the streets and did not want ‘to come in out of the cold’ has evolved into an organization whose approach to eliminating poverty on a world-wide scale is as simple and straight forward as going into the field, talking with the poor, hearing from them exactly what they see as their need and then developing innovative, low-cost tools that the impoverished rural farmers can use to improve their own lives. There is a third book I want to recommend: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. While a lot of professors give talks titled ‘The Last Lecture’ in which they ruminate on what matters most to them, when Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch was invited to give such a lecture, he had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The Last Lecture he gave was not about dying however . . . it was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment because ‘time is all you have. . . and you may find one day that you have less than you think’. A wonderfully poignant and uplifting book full of the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon that he was asked by many to publish it in book form. An easy but important read!
Lay Leaders July - August, 2008 Date Lay Leader Children’s Talk Prayer l for Illumination 7/ 6 Amy Wade Rev. Jason Link Eleanor Daller 7/13 Ron Shertzer Pat Softchin Vernon Stoltzfus 7/20 Vernon Stoltzfus Rev. Jason Link Sue Benner 7/27 Kurt Thompson Jr. Ron Shertzer Maria Kay 8/ 3 Marian Cabott Rev. Jason Link Phi l Rudisill 8/10 Janice Lasak Pat Holland Ron Shertzer 8/17 Pat Holland Rev. Jason Link Ilene Franklin 8/24 Alyce Denver Stef Nuse Howard Benner 8/31 Phil Rudisill Rev. Jason Link Georgie Dreibelbis
Greeters:
7/ 6 Arlene Hogg 7/13 Vernon & Sue Stoltzfus 7/20 The Rudisill family 7/27 Howard & Sue Benner 8//3 Ron & Lori Shertzer 8/10 Dave & Betsy Cole 8/17 Ilene Franklin 8/24 John & Amy Barcus 8/31 Jan Lasak Nursery Care Providers: 7/ 6 Vernon & Sue Stoltzfus 7/13 Scott & Sandy Richards 7/20 Danette & Amanda Balistreri 7/27 Tracy Slider and Jessica & Tori 8/3 Ron & Lori Shertzer 8/10 Scott & Sandy Richards 8/17 Sandy & Kate Simmons 8/24 Steve & Mary Kauffman 8/31 Bob & Linda Walter Flower Calendar: Given to the glory of God, and:
7/ 6 in memory of my father, George Golightly, by Linda Walter 7/13 by the Rudisill family 7/20 in memory of Charles Underhill by Dorothy 7/27 in memory of Marilyn Gordodian by Dorothy Underhill and the Lasak family | 
