Don Snow Saint and Sinner

I miss Don Snow.

When you work in a church you meet all kinds of people who touch your life in different ways. Don was one of a kind.

He was a big man with a deep radio voice, and a fat Dalmatian named Lexie, that he brought with him everywhere. This immediately made me love Don, because I too have an unnatural love for dumb Dalmatians.

If you look around on this website you can find Don’s faith story. When I was working on the “Welcome Video” for the church Don volunteered to help me out. I was looking for members from all of the different worship services to say something short about their service. I had a script written. Don threw it away.

About that time, Young and I had the idea to run a series of Faith Stories of our members on the website. I asked Don if he was interested in us taping him. Don said no, he had preached his faith story at a service in the chapel a few years earlier. He told me that it was too painful to repeat, but that I could transcribe it if I wanted to. What you see under “Faith Stories” is what he wanted to say to welcome people. What you can’t see is that Lexie was there at his feet in the Sanctuary, sitting there quietly while we taped. And then I listened to Don's faith story.

Don’s story killed me.

I sat here in my office last summer listening, transfixed by his voice and his pain. I wish I’d been there that night in the chapel to hear it in person. Instead I transcribed it, stopping, sniffling, typing, repeating, typing some more, and crying quite a bit. My officemate, Tami, came in to make sure I wasn’t having a nervous breakdown. I tried hard to impart the rhythm of his story and his sincere love of this church family. It is not perfect, but when you read it, you get the sense of him.

Don understood that the church wasn’t for perfect people.

The church is a place to catch your breath, reassess, center yourself, and be with other imperfect people who are trying to turn to God just like you. Turning to God is easy during the good times, but hard, so hard during the bad. To quote Don, “At a time when I couldn’t talk to God in a rational, reasonable, even polite voice, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, God found a way to talk to me. God showed me the face of Christ in a whole lot of people. Many of them here at this church and it was a really good thing. It helped me survive and for that I am grateful.”

Don and I spoke quite a bit about how we missed some of the saints of this church who had passed on in recent years. It’s a strange thing to realize that he is one of those saints now.
That has got to have him laughing.

I miss you Don Snow.

WORSHIP +2

Here’s the thing. Methodist’s lose their pastors.
Once a pastor is ordained in the Methodist Church they are subject to itinerancy. This goes back to the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, and it is not going to change anytime soon. Pastors are moved to where the District Superintendent thinks that they will do the best job, or where that pastor is needed the most.
This is good and bad.
Good because pastors are spread around and get to learn about the people from different parts of their district.
Good because all of the “superstar preachers” are not centered at one church.
Good because if you have a pastor that you aren’t thrilled with, don’t worry, that pastor will be moved eventually!
Bad because we feel a great sense of loss when our favorite preachers move on. This leads to all sorts of bad feelings about the church, when the truth of the matter is change is inevitable. Pastors will be moved and they know that.
Why am I telling you this?
Worship +2 can you help you! Worship +2 is our way of saying that we want you fully connected with this body of Christ. Yes, we want you in worship, but we also want you to meet other people in this church and feel connected to them. +2 is an encouragement to join a small group and a mission project.
Why?
Because if you are only connected with a worship service, or the preacher in that worship service, you are bound to suffer when that person leaves.
Small groups include Sunday school classes, book groups, Bible studies, choir, committees, whatever. They are a way to stay engaged with the people that make up this body. My Sunday school class, Genesis, has held me together more times than I can say. Through the good times and the bad those people have been there for me. And we were there for each other when one of our favorite associate pastors, Beverly Slusher, moved on to her own church some years ago.
Mission projects are the lifeblood of this church. They remind us that we must live out our faith through our treatment of “the least of these.” We have had people go to Russia, New Mexico, Kentucky and Mexico to extend our helping hands just this past year. We work extensively in the Austin community to feed and clothe those who have no place to go. We mentor children from disadvantaged households. We build and fix homes of the elderly and poor. Through this work our hearts are changed, and we in our middle class hearts learn that God is working to change us too, not just those whom we are helping. When you work on a project like some of these mentioned you build relationships with the people you are working with, and this too will help you connect with this body of Christ.
So here is my challenge to you: embrace Worship +2. Get involved with a class, and look for a mission that speaks to your heart. Your life, and the life of this church community will be enriched. And it might help you get through the sadness I see coming down the pike, when our beloved pastors retire.