It’s hard to find the words to summarize what the last few weeks and months have been like for my husband Terry and I as we have sought to meet the challenges of leading well through necessary changes at Marsh Creek Church where he is the pastor as well as consider a surprising invitation to a new ministry at Palmyra Brethren in Christ Church. This church is located right next door to Hershey, about one hour from where we now live.
Over the course of our ministry years, invitations have come, been prayerfully considered, graciously declined, overwhelmingly accepted and cautiously explored. We have always sought to find God’s will as we desire to be faithful to His call on our lives.
We have to say though, that this has been the most difficult decision we’ve ever had to make. Maybe as we are getting older, the thought of moving is just more arduous, or the loss of relationships once again too heartbreaking to consider, or leaving family members behind just too much too bear. Whatever the case, this time we REALLY hope we are going to stay at this next place FOREVER!!! This is a running joke now in our family, as each time we arrive, love our new ministry assignment and declare that we are never moving again! Until one day, yet another Bishop calls and says, would you consider … and we start all over again!
So it was a few months back when former Bishop Craig Sider called and asked if we would consider being interviewed at Palmyra BIC church as they were in need of a Senior Pastor. Their former pastor Nate Yoder had led them very successfully for 8 years and under his leadership the congregation had grown to nearly 300 in attendance in two services on a Sunday morning, established a staff of 5 and they had recently purchased 30 acres of property for a new building program. Certainly it would be a wonderful opportunity. Nate had left to answer a call to become Bishop of the Atlantic Conference of the BIC, succeeding Craig.
Well, to make a long story short, through an exploration process that included scouting trips, casual visits, structured interviews, staff meetings, phone calls and emails we could see that things were lining up in an amazing way and this was indeed where God was leading us. While it was hard to believe that we could ever leave Marsh Creek, a church we had planted 15 years ago, left and been so blessed to come back to, the picture of God’s greater plan became clearer. We now realize that our gift mix as a couple is a great fit for what Palmyra needs next and for Marsh Creek this is a good transition time for a new leader to come in and take them into the next phase of their ministry. And while there is much more that could be written I did want to spend a little time telling all our friends and family in facebookland and beyond what has been happening with us. Sunday, June 21 will be our last Sunday at Marsh Creek Church and our move will take place as soon as we are able to sell our home and buy another one
Now perhaps some of my recent facebook posts will make more sense; the singing that was actually getting me through the crying, the praising when I was in disbelief, and the rainbow of joy in the midst of the storm. Through it all God has been extremely faithful and I can honestly say, answered our prayers for the best for Marsh Creek moving forward and for His perfect plan and will to be accomplished in our lives. We will always be grateful to our Bishop Nate for his help in this process and to former Bishop Craig for believing in us to extend the invitation.
So as once again we say our sad goodbyes and happy hellos, we go with our family motto clearly in focus ---
Only one life
T’will soon be past;
Only what’s done
For Christ will last.
On ‘The Great Adventure,’
Carol Anne and Terry Friesen
