You are not the first, nor will you be the last, to ask that question! For the most part, pastors tend to be part of the hurry up and wait crowd; working on 'all the things', so that they are ready for unexpected moments in their days. Each denomination or nondenominational community of faith have their own guidelines for how a pastor is to spend time. There are daily activities, as well as weekly, monthly and annual activities. This makes it hard to put things in a nice, neat package with a bow, but we'll see if we can at least get Iowa United Methodist things in a box.

     As an Iowa United Methodist clergyperson comes before the Staff, Pastor, Parish Committee for the first time, along with the District Superintendent, there is an expectation shared that the pastor will be first appointed to the community and next to the church. In OUMC's case, that would include the Riverside Church Association community. This expectation might include eating in local establishments; shopping at local businesses; hanging out at libraries, museums, and theaters; participation in a civic organization; attending school events, as able; making oneself available for community activities and celebrations; just to name a few. Each appointment will have its own community vibe.

     Each community of faith is unique in their pastoral needs, as well as each pastor being unique in their gifts and talents. How those come together is driven by expectations of the church, but also by the amount of time a pastor is appointed to that church. Quarter time (10-12 hours/week), half-time (20-25 hours/week), three quarter-time (30-35 hours/week), and full-time ( 40-50 hours/week) appointments are the standard in the Iowa Conference. At OUMC this covers activities like sermon/worship prep; worship & special services; community engagement; emails, mail, phone calls and texts; engagements with local church boards, teams and committees; media/technology; church finances; education according to needs of church or pastor's gifts/graces/passions -which can be anything from a book to a conference; Circuit ministry (Pastor Kim is Circuit Leader for the Pott County and Friends Circuit); clergy gatherings at local, regional and conference levels; Confirmation; Annual Conference attendance; spiritual formation of self and others; visitation of those who request visitation and prayers for all; funerals; weddings; fulfilling the Conference requirement of being active in one Conference Board or Agency and one District Committee (Pastor Kim is Chair of Conference Parish Development and Registrar for District Committee on Ministry); counseling; and other duties as requested, as the saying goes. This is the reason for a salary versus hourly pay schedule. Some weeks might be smashed and others might be a bit boring (which you never say out loud), but it all evens out over time.

     In the United Methodist tradition, the Iowa Conference also sets the benefits package the pastor will receive, often based on appointment status, years in pastoral ministry, and other such details. Beyond the financial benefits, the Iowa Conference pastoral benefits package includes, after one year of service, and scheduled around required activities; four weeks of vacation, including four Sundays; two weeks of continuing education/spiritual retreat, including two Sundays; two weeks of sick leave, including two Sundays, with more available at the agreement of leadership; bereavement time; up to three months leave every four years for spiritual renewal; and upon local church and Conference approval, a sabbatical of longer time is able to be granted.

     This is not an all-inclusive list, as just when a pastor thinks they have it nailed down, there is a shift in the landscape or a crisis. I encourage you to reach out to myself or a member of the SP PRC with any questions concerning the activities of a given day or time period of your pastor. May all ministry be done to the glory of God!

Setting the Table 
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow your­self to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment. 

Consider the patterns of your life knit throughout your being -all the layers of lived experience that make you who you are, and how each person has their own unique and sacred patterned life story. 

Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization. 
- Mahatma Gandhi

​Food for Thought 
As I have grown in my relationship to God through the years, I have come to think of God in many ways - God our Shepherd, God our Deliverer, God our Hope, God our Provider, God our Gardener are just a few examples. The image of God that is living with me in this season, where the mornings turn cooler and the night temperatures call for cozy sweaters, is God our Master Knitter. Yeah, we don't hear God talked about too often as the knitter. But I'm here to tell you - God knits. Perhaps God is not a knitter of sweaters, but God is a knitter.
 
Though I'm not a knitter, I know a bit about knitting - I have witnessed it, and received it as a gift. Knitting is a slow process. It takes concentration to make sure the right strands go in the right places to produce the pattern that will lead to a recognizable whole. The best knitters weave something beautiful out of even the most ordinary materials. And knitting holds worth and value, not only because of the expertise and patterns of the work, but that sweater, scarf, mittens your grandparent knit for you are lovely and valuable because of the hands that made it. We are the work of God's hands. God creates our very essence, our inner being. Job says it this way: "you knitted me with skin and flesh and knitted me together with bones and sinews." (Job 10:11) 

Psalm 139 says it another way, our creator knitted us together long before we took our first breath. We are a unique creation filled with wonder and awe. Unlike anything else in God's creation, humans are God's special handiwork. We are the Imago Dei - made in the image of God. Each of us endowed with a special composition, fearfully and wonderfully made. 

God weaves together something lovely out of even the most standard materials. In God's expansive creation, we have Moseses, Rahabs, Nathans, Lydias, Jameses, Marys, Cheryls, all imago dei, all designed with the purpose to fulfill God's call. 

As God's uniquely created wonders, it is not our call to nitpick what we perceive as flaws in ourselves or one another. It is not for us to identify the stitches that do not meet our standards and require conformity to our ideas of what is good. No! We are called to love who God loves; accept who God accepts and to celebrate the differences God creates. 

It sounds simple to say that we should love ourselves and others with a grace that values whait is both different and beautiful, but it really challenges our perspective. Our society is so critical, and we can be so critical of ourselves and others that we can lose sight of the gift of simply loving ourselves and others for our uniquenesses. This invitation to see ourselves as the master­fully knitted creations of a loving God, is a change in perspective we a II deeply need. 

We are called to welcome the vast variety of knitted patterns -human garments -not made lby human hands, and to celebrate the full spectrum of humanity lavishly, lovingly, inclusively, unequivocally. Proudly display your garment -your patterns -knitted lovingly by God without assimilation, or adjustment. 
Remember that God the Master Knitter loves variety and diversity! Remember that God the Master Knitter loves you! 

God is intimately and actively involved in the world - in the church, in our lives -stitching, altering, repairing and transforming so that we fully value all the garments of God's good creation -all the gifts. Gifts that are intricate and complex. Gifts that are beautiful and amazing. Gifts that were fashioned by the hands of our Creator. To God be the glory for the great things God has made! 
​
This week, try creating something new. Maybe try knitting if that is something you have an interest in. Notice, within your new creation, all of the different pieces that make it beautiful and unique. 
As the air is cooling down, go for a walk outside and take notice of all the variety and diversity our God has.

Blessing 
Creating God, you have knit your grace into our lives and our very being. Help us to see and recognize the patterns of goodness you have imparted within us and one another, and to honor them, humbly, as holy and precious. Amen.
​ 
A little Table Talk for your table ... 
What are some characteristics that are knit into who you are, or are a part of your lived experience that have contributed to your being who you are? 
Sometimes we celebrate differences easily, and other times we can become very judgmental and critical of the unique ways folks express themselves. How have you experienced this in your own life? 
What are some unique qualities you celebrate in yourself? In others? Though we are all patterned differently from one another, we are all beloved by God.
 
Try taking it to the Kids Table ... 
Ask your kiddos if they have ever noticed the patterns in knit sweaters or knit caps or mittens. The strands of yarn, when knitted in particular ways, produce the varying patterns. Find some patterns or designs in the clothes they wear. 

Help your kiddos learn to make friendship bracelets with strands of thread or beads. These can each have a unique pattern or design. Have them share these bracelets with friends -they will be special, not only because they are beautiful and unique, but because have been hand crafted. 
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Talk with your child about what makes them special, and about how they are loved by God. Let them know that you love them too!

Here we are on the cusp of fall! The morning air is cooler and even when the day is extra warm it is for less time than in the midst of summer. I can hear football practice as Dash, Booker and I spend a bit of time outside in the late afternoon and I count six red leaves on my maple tree. I've also spent much desk time preparing for a new program year in my office both at home and the church the last few weeks. All a sure sign that our schedules are changing from the feeling of summer freedom, to a more regimented schedule of school, games, community and church.
 
At OUMC we'll spend each Sunday during worship on one of our five membership vows. Do you remember what they are? We remember them each time we respond during the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, but otherwise we don't pay much attention to them. 

Here's the deal though, when we say we will support Oakland UMC and the greater Church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness, it is a vow. A vow of commitment to the Body of Christ, both here and beyond. How much do we really know about what those vows ask of us as a people of faith? How can we truly live them out in real time and in real places, not just within the walls of our building for an hour on Sunday morning? How does God call us through these vows and how do we support new and long-time members alike with our commitment. 

I would raise a caution flag just slightly when we think of membership and the church. In our faith in Christ as Savior, we all make up the Body of Christ; all members of the Body. Membership in a brick and mortar facility is a human construct. Though there is little doubt that God blesses the spaces our ministry is based in, membership in those spaces is not a requirement for participation in the ministry God has called each of us to join in, both individually and corporately, nor is it a requirement of Salvation. 
​
I hope you will join us, either online or in person, throughout September as we explore our vows and how working together, we glorify God not just in the vows we take, but in how we live them out together. Come home this fall! Home to a community of believers who welcome you in whatever place you are in your faith journey; who welcome you just as you are.

We'll save you a seat!

See you soon!