Yesterday was Pastor Peter's last Sunday with us. It was a very emotional time for me. He's helped my family through some of the hardest times in my life. He was there to help me through the period in my life after my mother died when I was questioning/blaming God for "not answering my prayers", he was there for us we struggled getting a proper diagnosis and medication regime for one of our children, he was there for all of us (but mostly for Al, as I had Lois) during that whole fiasco a couple Falls ago, he was there when my father died (even though the snowstorm prevented anyone from coming from Halifax to Kentville to the service), he came to visit me in the hospital last Fall when I had that HORRIBLE surgery (that I would not even wish on my worst enemy!), he's been there through Al's deployments, he's been there to laugh and celebrate with us, and to cry and mourn with us. He will be missed!
Last night we also had a Farewell Dinner for him and Ellen and the girls (photos down the page further). That in and of itself was emotional, but then Bill and Lois arrived! Seeing them back one last time to see Peter off was very emotional for me. Seeing Pastor Bill back in his old spot as worship leader gave a sense of familiarity, yet a sense of finality to it all. When Bill sang at the end the Josh Grobin song "You Lift Me Up", there was no way I could stop the tears (as if there were at any other point in the day's festivities!) That song was played at Dad's funeral. Bill was supposed to come and sing at the funeral but due to said storm was prohibited from doing so. Memories are powerful... And although "they" say that scent is the biggest trigger for memories, I believe, for me, it is music. When Pastor Peter sang FOR us yesterday morning I was done for the rest of the day!
Things are never going to be the same at Hillside. First Bill and Lois left. Now Peter and Ellen. Soon AJ and Kelly will be going, and Pastor Jay and Sharon Guptil will be coming and hiring all new staff. But Peter, in wisdom beyond his years (he is less than 2 months younger than me, and takes great delight in that!), addressed that very thing in his final sermon to us yesterday morning.
"Moses was dead. Be strong and courageous. Get your supplies ready." (Taken from Joshua 1:1-18) He said to us, "You do not honor the past by dwelling on it in the present." He said the biggest insult we could make to him, as our former pastor, leader, teacher, shepherd, would be to to say of our NEW pastor, "that's not how Peter would have done that!"
In essence - YES, things are going to be different! They CANNOT EVER be the same again. That is change. That is growth. He said that he'd like to think that he trained "us" (the collective US) better than to expect Jay to be "Peter~ish" - or even be "AJ~ish". Jay needs to be "Jay~ish", and we need to to allow him the grace to do that. "Moses was dead".
"Moses was dead", there was nothing the Israelites could do to bring Moses back. They needed to rely and trust their NEW leader, Joshua - chosen by God. Peter is not dead. He is still in Cole Harbour, even, on "Wesleyan Way", but his Season at Hillside is ended, that chapter of our church's history is closed. There is nothing we can do to that will ever change that. So we need to be "strong and courageous" We need to look the Jordan River head on, fully prepared for what lies ahead.
"Moses was dead. Be strong and courageous. Get your supplies ready." We need to have our "supplies ready" for when Jay arrives in July. We CANNOT sit idling in neutral until he gets here, we need to continue working and preparing for his arrival. We need to have all our ducks in a row so that when he walks through those doors he will know that we are ready to push back the "Canaanites", to push back the gates of hell, and strive for what is ahead with Jay as our Joshua.
I, personally, am reminded of the verse in Philippians 3: 12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect,
but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of
me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But
one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is
ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
This is what we need to do at Hillside. Strain toward what is ahead, press on toward the goal... The Goal has not changed just because the leader had changed. The Israelites' goal did not change just because "Moses was dead"! They STILL needed to cross that Jordan River and take possession of the Promised Land, and that is what we must continue to do now that "Peter is gone". The Harvest is not going to wait until we are acclimated to the way Jay does things. The Lost are not going to stay on hold until we get "new" instructions from a new leader. Our Leader is the same. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! And His agenda will never change. "Go into all nations and make disciples". That is what the Church is there for. It is not for US to sit and spectate. It is for us to be re-fueled - not by a man, but by the Holy Spirit - to Go, and find the lost, and point them toward Jesus.
Pastor Tim (our newest!) and Pastor AJ had a song they wanted to share... I can't remember the words, but MAN was it ever funny! {Thanks to Barb and her "co-horts" for providing it!}
Peter's very good friend Paul had a few words to say regarding our revered leader... Which inevitable produced roars of laughter (from US, NOT Peter!). The "comic relief" was definitely a relief from all the tears I shed yesterday. {Oh, and stories weren't so bad either... Something about underwear and chocolate syrup...}
Our celebration of Peter's ministry at Hillside would not have been complete without Pastor Bill coming (from Doaktown, NB) to sing for the event. Pastor Peter was very supportive of Pastor Bill as he was in training, giving him room to learn and to grow on staff at Hillside. {And on a bit of a selfish note, the fact that Pastor Bill came meant that MY LOIS came too, and I got to see her...and love on her for a little while~as if I wasn't crying enough!}
One last time Peter addressed his congregation as our Pastor before passing the torch on to Pastor AJ.
We are excited for the coming months as AJ serves as our interim Sr. Pastor, before heading off himself to plant His new church Deep Water in downtown Halifax.
Pastor Peter has been an enormous blessing to Hillside, to our family - to me. It is very sad to see him go. But it is with great pride that I see him going off to take his position as Associate Director of World Hope Canada (Or something like that...titles mean very little to me, and so I generally don't remember them, but it is something equally as "prestigious"). I am certain that he will be a great blessing to them as well.
We are going to miss the Moore's - Peter & Ellen, Mallory, Julia, and little Shorey (who, sadly, won't remember her first church family, who waited with eager anticipation, her arrival.) We wish them the best of everything as they follow God's leading in their lives - with Strength, Courage, and Faithfulness...
And so, today, this is...
Life As I Know It
