Pastor’s Pen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …… . . . . . . . . . Pastor Eldon Olson

During these months of Pastor Kindem’s Sabbatical absence, Pastor Wold and I have tried to sustain the Pastoral Care needs of persons at Peace. A note from Pastor Kindem this week reminds me that he will be returning soon. He and his family have had a very rewarding Sabbatical time together – all sorts of diverse activities, exciting people and places, enriching experiences. I hope you’ve had a chance to experience the flavor of their Sabbatical from the many Blog entries they’ve written for the ‘folks at home’.

As this time of Sabbatical comes to a close, I want to thank those who have been especially helpful to us in our Pastoral Care duties. I’ve known David Wold since we first began to work together in l987. He continues to be an esteemed fellow pastor, a delightful colleague, and a good friend. The feedback I’ve gotten is that people are somewhat surprised when we both show up for a pastoral call or a pastoral function – the truth is – at least from my standpoint – we genuinely enjoy working together, even if we’ve been dubbed ‘Twiddle-dee’ and ‘Twiddle-dum’. So, thanks, David.

I also want to thank others on the Peace staff. We have some enormously engaged, capable, and talented support staff at Peace. Sherry consistently goes the extra mile to be helpful, Jon has consistently brought his treasure of experience and wisdom to our worship life, Nicole has brought the voice of our children and youth to enrich the life we share. And Martha Myers has always brought a richness and depth to the Word we experience at our Worship, as well as a sense of stability and Sabbath to our congregational processes.

The Sabbatical Committee has been wonderfully engaged throughout this time. We meet as a group of friends, not as a committee of tasks – and that’s a delight! And there are dozens of others who have brought capable hands and welcoming faces to the tasks of this Sabbatical time – children’s message voices, note writers, meal organizers, and a host of others who stepped into shoes that are probably usually filled by Pastor Kindem. 

So it has been a good experience for the congregation, I think. We certainly welcome the Kindem’s from their many journeys and eagerly look forward to times to debrief and reconnect.

Thanks to all who have been a part of this Sabbath journey!