Moving In

           I have a new home.

           That’s true both for me and my blog.  For the past two years, I have been blogging as pastor of The ARK United Methodist Church.  I was living in North Sioux City, SD and my blog was on that church’s website.  If you’re new to my writing and want to check out that prior blog, you can go here; the entries through June 20, 2011 are mine.

           Now, as many of you know, I’m the pastor of the Wheatland Parish.  That consists of three United Methodist Churches, located respectively in Gettysburg, Onida, and Agar.  So, now I’m living in Gettysburg and my blog is here.  I hope, at some point, to be able to be able to post these entries on the Wheatland Parish website as well.

           Moving around is part of the deal when you agree to become a United Methodist pastor.  There’s good and bad about it, as with many things in life.  The good, though, is that when you live in different places you get to meet an awful lot of nice people.  When I lived in Pierre, I met some wonderful people, including one who is now my wife.  When we lived in Wessington Springs, we met some wonderful people.  When we lived in North Sioux City, we met some wonderful people.  We’re confident that we will meet wonderful people in Onida, Agar, and Gettysburg as well.

           Another good thing about moving around is that you get to have different experiences and try new things.  A good friend once told me that trying something new is what keeps you young, and I have to agree.  Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve done some things I’d never done before, and even though I’m fifty-two, I still feel young.  I’m looking forward to having some new experiences in the towns of Agar, Gettysburg, and Onida.

           Wanda and I are especially excited about this move because it gets us back to small towns.  That’s nothing against the people of North Sioux City, because they’ve treated us wonderfully.  The thing is that Wanda and I both come from small towns (Wanda’s from Blunt, I’m from Delmont), and we both have a love of small towns.  We recognize that they’re not for everyone, but we feel very comfortable in towns of the size of those in the Wheatland Parish.  We look forward to getting to know those towns and the people in them.

           When we decided five years ago that I would go to seminary and become a pastor, Wanda and I termed that decision “our adventure”.  We look forward to taking this next step in that adventure.  We hope you’ll keep reading this blog, and will join us on the journey.