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Author: Joe

Fan of Bruce Springsteen, the New York Mets, and The Simpsons... not necessarily in that order.

A 9/11 reflection

Published September 11, 2015

This post originally appeared on September 11, 2011, but the sentiment remains today.

Entrance to the Middletown World Trade Center Memorial Gardens.
Middletown, NJ remembers the victims of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Photo from Middletown Township website. Click to learn more about the Memorial Gardens.

I am praying today for the people of Middletown, New Jersey, a community I had the privilege of being part of from 1994 to 2005.

On September 11, 2001 I was in my office at Middletown United Methodist Church where I was serving as the Youth and Family Minister.

Years earlier one of our members told me how he and his family had found the church. He spent several Saturdays stopping at towns along the New Jersey Transit rail line to find a place he and his family would like to live. The 45-minute commute by train between work in New York City and a great place to live had sold him, as it had so many in the area–evidenced by the full parking lot of the Middletown Train Station every weekday.

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Do we need a meeting? Respecting others’ time

Published June 23, 2015

The time people give for meetings is a generous donation. Image by clker.com (http://www.clker.com/clipart-13595.html) [Copyrighted free use], via Wikimedia Commons
The time people give for meetings is a generous donation. Image by clker.com (http://www.clker.com/clipart-13595.html) [Copyrighted free use], via Wikimedia Commons
Some six months ago, I began living the life of a layperson while remaining clergy. After more than 20 years as an associate pastor, I now work a desk job in an office. While there are similarities to my previous life, it has been a season of adjustment.

One of the lessons I have learned is about time and the limited amount of it I have available each week.

In my pastoral positions, I had a good deal of control over my schedule. There were many appointments to keep and meetings to attend, but I was the one setting most of them. For example, I could schedule the mission trip parents meeting on Wednesday night because on Tuesdays my family watched Dancing with the Stars together. Protecting family time was important and it should be.

What I failed to realize fully, was that every meeting I did schedule was cutting into someone else’s family time, which was just as important to them and should be. I confess I didn’t always treat their attendance as the valuable donation to the life of the church that it was.

When people come to a meeting, they are donating something very valuable to the church. Respect their gift with these tips.

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