My New Church!

What perfect timing! I was working on my sermon reading blogs and happened to see that Kelly is doing a Show Us Your Life about churches!  I never finished talking about my new church on here so I thought now would be a perfect time (and there are sanctuary pictures!).

For those of you coming over from Kelly's blog, I have been called as the Senior Pastor of the Rehoboth Congregational Church in Rehoboth, Massachusetts.  My official start day is tomorrow (all of mine and my husband's belonging are currently packed in a UHAUL ready to arrive at the parsonage!).

This is me standing in front of the church after I preached my Call Sermon and the church voted to call me.  The search process is long and complicated and this was the last step.  There were about 175 people in church that Sunday - a big crowd to preach to at a small-town Congregational Church!

My office!  I can't wait to turn it into a zen-filled spiritual environment.  I think people should walk into a pastor's office and feel an instant sense of calm, agreed?

One of the things that I really loved about this church when I interviewed was their commitment to their children and youth.  They actually have a paid church school director (who is amazing!) which shows how important bringing up children in a strong church environment is.

Isn't the sanctuary beautiful?

I also love that this church is a community church.  Rehoboth is a small town and a lot of time church events = town events AND town events = church events.  Bruce and I both grew up in small towns and we're excited to be part of a new communtiy.

The church is a member of the denomination, The United Church of Christ.  I will be ordained into the UCC on April 10th!  I started the process of ordination in June of 2007 - it feels surreal to be planning the service now!

The United Church of Christ is a progressive mainline denomination that is grounded in the statement, God is Still Speaking.  Members seek to see how God is still actively speaking in their lives.  One of my passions in ministry is to see how God can speak through ordinary, everyday life.  I actually told the search committee when I interviewed that crossing the finish line of my half marathon was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life!

I'd love to talk more about the United Church of Christ if you are intrigued by the God is Still Speaking campaign.  I know a lot of UCC clergy all around the country so I could easily help you find a church in your area.  I think having a strong, vibrant and supportive church community does more than just feed your spiritual needs.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please feel free to follow along as I start this new phase of my life and ministry!

Rehoboth folks - see you soon! xoxo

Packed.

Whew.

Mom, Dad, Lou LaRocca and John Worthington - words DO NOT express how grateful Bruce and I are for all of your help today.  We couldn't have gotten the truck packed so quickly and so smoothly without you.  Thank you for your patience, your persistence and your enthusiasm.

I can't believe I can say this, but the truck is packed and the house is empty.  We probably could have gotten away with a 17-foot truck, but we're happy that we were able to throw last minute things into the truck and not have to cram everything into my car.

The thought of couches to sit on and TVs to watch was extremely enticing for two people with an empty house, so we decided to come up to my parent's house for dinner.  My dad ordered Chinese food.

Wonton Soup ...

Sesame Chicken, Spare Ribs and Pork Fried Rice ...

I'm so tired I could barely taste it!

The weather reports are kind of throwing a wrench in our plans for tomorrow, but I'm crossing my fingers that the snow (yes, snow) won't be as bad as they're calling for.  I'll keep you posted - but keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

My official start day is tomorrow!  I feel insanely blessed that my search & call process was as short as it was and that I found such a wonderful congregation to serve.

Grace unexpected. :)

Don't Leave Me!

It's like she's saying, "I know they won't leave without the chair. So if I sit here until they leave they'll take me too!"

We're both starting to feel the wear and tear of packing, but we're in good spirits and have some help coming later.  For now I have to show you our latest treasure that we picked up today ...

When I was over at my friends' house picking up Dolly the other day, I saw this on their screened-in porch.  I had never seen it before, so I asked where it came from.  Without hesitating, Joe said, "Do you want it?!" And without hesitating I said, "BRUCE!"

I love the birdcage design - I think every house should have a good mix of old and modern - and this is just beautiful!

We're currently going back and forth between whether we'll keep it in the master bedroom or the living room.  We'll figure it out when we get there!

Who Knew A 20 Foot Truck Was So Big?

Question: Didn't we just do this?

Wish us luck! And hope for no snow!

Empty

We're so excited about the next step. But it's always sad to see an empty house.

My parents brought us pizza for dinner - extremely helpful because our entire kitchen is packed!

I think we've both lost momentum so we're taking a break and trying to get our energy back.  I'm blogging and Bruce is watching TV - we're hoping we have at least 45 minutes to an hour more of packing left in us tonight.

We pick up the truck in the morning - it's supposed to SNOW!

P-p-p-progress!

Holy cats!

Bruce and I are finding that moving out of a house is much easier than moving out of an apartment - there is much more room to store boxes!

Competition update - I'm ahead by one box!  Although Bruce thinks I'm cheating because I'm packing clothes and he's packing the kitchen.  Apparently "the kitchen requires more thought."  However - packing clothes involves folding them first (I was behind on laundry) so I think we're even.  Stay tuned!

Bruce went out for packing tape and came home with lunch from subway.  I had a turkey sub on a whole wheat roll with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, banana peppers and cheddar cheese.

Back to packing I go!

***

For those of you wondering why I'm wasting time by blogging, I'm proud to say that this blog post - from the time I plugged in my camera to my computer to when I hit publish - will take me six minutes.  I've got blogging down to a science!

Packing Challenge

I didn't mention on here that Bruce has been out of town for the past few days visiting his family.  He was thinking that he could get in some good family time before the move and I could have some hassle-free packing time while he was gone.

I think I packed three boxes the entire time he was gone.

And I didn't do any dishes.

Oops.

So today - it's on!  I've challenged Bruce to a packing challenge.  We're keeping track of how many boxes each of us packs and the winner gets bragging rights.  Who do you think is going to win?  My facebook friends are rooting for Bruce. :)

Breakfast:

PB toast with Raisin Bran, chopped walnuts and a drizzle of honey.

Lots of coffee.

For real now - someone out there has to think that I have it in me to beat my husband in this packing challenge, right?!

Shadows

I realized tonight one of my other favorite parts about spring ...

Longer days!

I took my Wear a Dress Tuesday pictures late tonight - and outside!

Stretch!

With only a few days left in Connecticut, my parents invited us over for dinner.  My dad fired up the grill!

Grilled Chicken and Loaded Baked Potatoes.

Yum!

Thanks for all of the kind thoughts about my new stole.  My aunt is so talented and I was thrilled when she said that she thought she could make a stole. I can't wait to wear it!

I'm trying to finish the bulletin for Sunday, but having a hard time focusing.  I can't imagine why ... :)

Handmade

Oh my goodness - look what came for me in the mail!

A beautiful handmade quilted stole from my Aunt Coni!

Look at this detail!

She asked me what color I wanted and I decided that I would get the most use out of it if it was multi-colored.  I'll wear it during ordinary time (which is technically supposed to be green, but it lasts so long I think it's a nice time to showcase artisan made stoles).

After the liturgical excitement, lunch just didn't seem exciting ...

Still delicious though - more leftover Mexican Soup.

I'm off to fold and pack laundry!

***

p.s. Happy Wear a Dress Tuesday!  I'm not currently in a dress because I'm packing, but I'm going to put one on for dinner!

Getting Spring To Spring

Yes.

This was delicious.

And simple.

Whole wheat toast topped with peanut butter, chopped walnuts and a drizzle of honey.

Yes honey!  This would have been delicious with some kind of fruit, too - perhaps strawberries?

Girl Talk is hosting a hop today about everyone's favorite signs of spring.  I've always said that while fall is my favorite season, I always need spring the most.  There is something about buds peeking out through a frost covered flower bed that remind me that warmer temperatures and longer days are just around the corner.  It's kind of like the one candle that remains lit after the Passion Narrative is read on Maundy Thursday ...

Flowers are definitely one of my favorite signs of spring - they are nature's free decor!  Here are some of my photos from last year ...

I hope you enjoyed these!  Head over to this post if you'd like to link up.

Busy day!  Errands + Packing, weeee!