Change: More Than the Coins in Our Pockets

​       Several weeks ago I preached for one of our congregations. During that Sunday’s children’s time, I asked, “Do you like change?” When a girl nodded her head yes, I asked what she likes about change. She responded, “You can buy things with it.”
       She was right. That’s one way to think about change. But I hope we can agree that change is more than the coins in our pockets.
       Over a recent lunch, three of our region’s pastors talked about their upcoming retirements, which represent significant change in their lives and those of their congregations. One pastor noted that the baptisms she performed on Palm Sunday were the final ones she would do in her current setting, but they also might be the last ones she ever will do. Each pastor speculated about what the future might hold—especially during the initial months of retirement.
       We also talked about how the region might best support them as they transition through this time of change and how the region’s staff might work with their congregations as they begin transitioning through changes of their own.

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