From the Pastors Desk

Future Possibilities

From the Pastors Desk - October 02, 2022

On September 23rd I attend a North Canton Ministerial Association meeting. This was the first meeting of that group since 2018. Pastor Carl Pace, Zion UCC, has been attempting to resurrect this group since he feels that the churches need to work together, now more than ever. The meeting was well attended.

Oddly enough, the first person I met was Father Joe Gasbarre who is the priest at St John’s Anglican Church in North Canton. Father Joe is looking for a new home for his church since the rent is excessively high where they are located now. I gave him my contact information and mentioned that maybe we could get together and talk if he is interested. Not certain if this will lead to anything but it is certainly worth investigating.

I then sat at a table between Pastor Weidenbach, Zion Lutheran North Canton, and Pastor Mark Williams, Holy Trinity Lutheran. They too would like to discuss collaborating. And of course, we have also agreed to do some collaborating with Zion UCC. The future is looking quite interesting. Of course, I will do nothing without the council and congregation’s input, so never fear!

One of the interesting concepts that came from this meeting is that we need to stop thinking of ourselves as specific denominations and instead think of ourselves collectively as the church. It is no longer an “us versus them” or denomination versus denomination situation since we all seem to have smaller congregations whose average age is at least 65. It was proposed that we start working and doing more things together collectively. As the church (together) we are able to do more, organize more and help others more.

Several ladies from the North Canton City Schools care team were there as well. They were invited to share their needs for the many children who desperately need assistance. The most vexing problem right now is housing. Many people right now are “couch surfing”, going from friend’s house to friend’s house staying on couches. These ladies expressed that there is also a lot of trauma in kids from broken and abusive homes. One of the ladies introduced herself to me and I explained about our concern of the month. She was excited and may contact us when she finds a certain need that we can assist with.

I do plan to continue attending these meetings as my schedule permits. My hope is that, collectively, we will be able to help each other achieve what many of us can’t do alone.

By the way…

Several months ago I mentioned Sherry Robinson’s idea about a first responder’s dinner. I wasn’t certain how that would play out. Well now I do, thanks to Linda Lautenslager! Linda had the brilliant idea to find out which firehouse/ems would serve Good Shepherd and take them dinner! It would be far easier to plan that way, and we would still be doing a dinner for the first responders. Thank you Linda for that great suggestion! If anyone would like to head this up and roll with it please see me.

I think this is all for now. Enjoy our beautifully colored fall world!

Faithfully,

Lei Fahrner