Thoughts from the Associate Pastor
An Exercise of Faith
For months a
team of eleven youth and adults have been planning for their
mission trip with the North Georgia Mountain Mission 2007
through the Southeast Conference of the UCC. On Sunday June 10th
the team was commissioned at the 11:00 worship service and we
set out, hammer in hand, to do good in the world and to exercise
our faith.
We had no
idea what we would find. We had no idea what would feed our
spirits, trip up our egos, challenge our physical capabilities
or move us emotionally, we just knew it would all happen. We
loaded up the cars with our tools, food and positive attitudes
for the experience of a lifetime.
We spent the
week at the 12 Stone Farm in Ellijay and Fort Mountain State
Park just outside of Chatsworth. The 12 Stone Farm through the
leadership of Chiquita Berry rescues abused and abandoned
horses, rehabilitates those horses with love and care and then
facilitates camps for abused teens with the assistance of the
horses. We had the opportunity to witness the healing spirit of
the farm through the land, horses and families that pass through
that place. We listened to Chiquita Berry tell stories of how
God has worked and continues to work in her life and we were
inspired.
During the
week, the Pilgrimage Mission Team joined efforts with two other
churches from the Southern Conference, Mount Hope, UCC in
Whitsett, NC and Pilgrim, UCC in Durham, NC, to work on three
different job sites. The three job sites were 1) the rock wall,
2) the kitchen, and 3) the building. The first site was to
build a rock wall out of broken pieces of concrete (delivered
from the local Chrysler-Jeep dealership parking lot). A
physically challenging, back breaking job site that left battle
wounds on shin bones and calf muscles. The mission of the
second site was to prepare and serve three hearty meals a day to
the 18 hungry mission team members for the week. The site
begged for strategy, cooking skills, and a heart for
hospitality. Lastly, the task of the third site was to build an
enclosed structure complete with walls, windows and
electricity. This site demanded fortitude, patients, and
claimed a few hammer-beaten fingers.
The members
of the Pilgrimage team, Allison Prahl, Nick Shiver, Chris
Shiver, Haley Kask, Holly Ward, Heather Kask, Roger Milliken,
Ian Milliken represented Pilgrimage well. I am so proud of
them. Whether the mission trip was a first for a team member of
or just one of many other mission trips, each team member
participated fully at the worksites, in the evening activities
and joined their hearts and minds, bodies and spirits in
worship. We each came away with our own stories and experiences
to share. We each had our own individual encounters with God up
on the mountain with the horses, with Chiquita, with each other,
with nature.
A huge hug
and thanks to our very own Heidi Schuler. Heidi is the director
of the Georgia Mountain Mission. Go ahead and mark your
calendars to join us next year in the Northern Mountains of
Georgia.
Courage for
your healing journey—
Pastor Kristin
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