Hallelujah! A new day has dawned

It is particularly appropriate that this morning my church, University Christian Church, welcomed a new minister and his family. I say appropriate because this is the time of year we think of new beginnings and gifts from God. Dr Russ Peterman, his wife, and four teenage children come to us from northern California, but I understand from church gossip that he has Texas roots, grew up in the Panhandle, and is named Russell after Russell (better known as Red) Steagall. Good recommendations!

I liked him. I liked that when he spoke informally he emphasized that he was not God’s gift to us; we were God’s gift to him. We’ll see how he feels about that in a year or so. I liked that he was up front that his family would always come first with him. I liked that he said any parent knows that the way to make a child be good is not to tell him how bad he is—I took that to apply to us as the children of God as well as to literal parents and children, though I was temped to poke Jordan who was sitting next to me. I liked him because his sermon was clear, interesting to follow, and made a good point. I think I’ll like his theology. And I liked him because he speaks clearly and was easy for me to hear and understand. Jacob liked him, because he was funny and didn’t preach too long.

I think the arrival of the Peterman family, if not a gift from God, is a sign from Him that good things are going to happen in our church. We’ve been without a resident minister for some time now and while we’re all grateful to Rev. Chuck Rolen for his interim service, there is a different feeling in the church now that we have a minister who plans to stay for years—yes, he said so. The congregation turned out in large numbers for both services, and if you listened and waited, you could sense an upbeat in the air, the sense of joy and optimism.

A personal bonus from being in church, besides the lovely greetings and hugs from friends: one woman told me she’d read Pigface and the Perfect Dog and couldn’t put it down; another told me that when she inherited her late mother’s Kindle, she found all my mysteries on it, and she was currently reading the third Blue Plate Mystery. I had enjoyed several “bookish” lunches with her mom and was anticipating another when she died suddenly.

Tis the season to be joyful. We made a good start this morning at UCC. Merry Christmas, everyone, and particularly the Russ Peterman family.

PS: Should I tell him my mother’s maiden name was Peterman? A church friend said to me, “Well, you both fell out of the same tree. But it’s an awful big tree.”