The kindness of strangers

Being on the receiving end is good for our growth, too

As many of you know, I recently had minor surgery. For many years I had put up with a nose that was always partly blocked, the result of an unfortunate meeting with an opponent's elbow in a football match many years ago. Many of you kindly regaled me with your experi­ence of this kind of surgery, but, despite that, I went ahead.

I thank God for the way that he works through the hands of others: surgeons, anaethetists, nurses, and other carers, especially my patient wife. It was humbling and instructive to place my­self in the position of the person being cared for. A week after my surgery, I was sick of moping around home, so I took one of our cars to the dealership in Ringwood for a service. After drop­ping off the car, I made my way to Ringwood station. As I got closer, I saw a Box Hill train already at the platform. I really wanted to catch it, so I broke into a jog. But as I reached the plat­form, by nose started to bleed heavily. It had yet to fully heal. I didn't listen to my surgeon, who had warned me not to exercise for at least two weeks! I used up my hankie to try and staunch the flow, but still it continued. As I sat on a bench, head bowed and bleed­ing profusely, a man in his 30s stopped to ask if I was OK. He could see the mess I was in and offered me his hankie, and then got on to the train. I could hardly even thank him.

A little later that day, perhaps as a result of my walk, my knee swelled up to the point where I couldn't put any weight on it. Jodi even had to drive me to the physiotherapist literally across the road. The next day I went into emergency at Box Hill Hospital for X-rays and a blood test. Because I was on crutches, and perhaps because I looked so awkward, the hospital or­gan­ized a wheelchair to take me to radiology. I felt uncomfortable as I was wheeled around by an orderly. Again I was dependent on the help of others.

Since these incidents, I've been re­flec­ting on what I've learnt from the last weeks. I was blessed by the kind­ness of a total stranger, who took time simply to ask me how I was, and to help me in a practical way. It made me think of all the lost opportunities in my life to show concern for some­one else, no matter how insignificant it might have seemed to me. I also had to process why I found it so difficult to be dependent on others. What is life like for those whose health or disability requires them to receive the care of others constantly? How can I be sensitive to how they feel, given that I am often a caregiver to them? How do I make them feel valued, rather than stigmatized?

Our daughter Emilia has recently been diagnosed with rheumatoid arth­ritis in her knee and ankles. When I was hobbling around, she said to me: "Now you know what it's like for me, Daddy." Perhaps this was the greatest lesson from the last weeks.

Pastor Greg's call

Coming back to work after sick leave, I would have preferred not to have been greeted by news of Pastor Greg's acceptance of the call to serve as School Pastor at Unity College, Murray Bridge. Pastor Greg's ministry at St Paul's has been greatly blessed by God over the course of his four years with us. God has gifted Greg in so many ways: a great sense of vision and the ability to see where the church needs to go; skills to plan for getting there and the development of new ways of thinking.

Perhaps it's too soon to speak of Greg's legacy, given that he still has a few weeks with us, but quite clearly the health and vision of our child, youth, and family ministry speaks volumes about Greg's visionary think­ing and strategic planning. He has also identified that a healthy congre­gation needs to focus on building teams of laity to lead ministry areas, facilitated by staff. Similarly, he has encouraged St Paul's to pay more attention to the area of discipleship, through the 'Equipping Church' model.

I would like to thank Pastor Greg for his partnership in ministry. This stretches back just over two years, and while I would have hoped it might have lasted longer, I want to thank Greg for our collaboration in ministry. I was blessed to install him as Associate Pastor on behalf on the District President in early 2005. Greg worked hard to integrate me into St Paul's in my early days here, and was an ever-helpful source of in­formation and advice. And to find a colleague who shared with me a passion for the Adelaide Crows and the Sturt Football Club: I'm not sure if this will ever happen again! I wish Greg, Kylie, Tayla, and Jessica God's richest blessing and continued guidance as they complete their time among us and move to Murray Bridge.

There is never a 'perfect' time to leave, and Greg's departure will leave us with many ministry areas to pick up. In these next weeks, Greg and I will do a handover of ministry tasks, so that I can begin oversight of his portfolios. Staff will also be briefed about extra responsibilities that we will need to share in Greg's absence. While the next months will be chal­lenging, they also provide St Paul's with an opportunity to further discern our ministry directions, and the kind of pastor that we will need to call to complement our current team and to help us to blaze new trails.

The challenge of change

No doubt you've heard it said that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. To which we can add a third: change. We know that this is true of the world around us: our work­places, homes and community. But the same is true of the church, of course, and true of St Paul's; and in particular, of our pastoral and staff leaders. From 1998 until 2004 St Paul's had the blessing of a settled pastoral team. Since then we have lived through the challenge (and blessing!) of these significant changes:

• 2004 – Pastor Fraser Pearce con­cludes his ministry
• 2005 – Pastor Greg Priebbenow arrives; Pastor Allan Heppner takes call
• 2006 – Senior Pastor vacancy
• 2007 – Pastor Andrew Brook commences ministry
• 2009 – Pastor Greg Priebbenow completes his ministry; Associate Pastor vacancy.

One could say that such major change is disruptive and counter­productive. On the other hand, we could also say that over the period of the last ten years, St Paul's has been blessed with the variety of skills, passion, and life and ministry experi­ence that each pastor brings.

Over my time in ministry, there have been many people who look to the church to be the stable centre of their lives, around which all the other changes revolves. The church exists to proclaim Jesus and him crucified. The message of the cross is good news for a world searching for meaning and purpose. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.' (Hebrews 13:8) And so St Paul's continues to be built on the foundation of this good news. How we may go about com­municating this will change, but the message remains the same.

I believe that St Paul's has been blessed through this period of pastoral transitions. What has become abun­dantly clear, as pastors come and go, is that the ministry of St Paul's is not their property, but the privilege and responsibility of each one of you. St Paul's mission, as part of God's greater mission, rests not in my hands, or the staff's, but with you. We are here only to ensure that you are connected to God, drawing on his strength and wisdom. Our impending vacancy will bring with it sadness, as we say good­bye to Pastor Greg, but it will also provide opportunities for each one of us to more fully explore God's call on our lives in church, home, work, and family life. And I'm confident that God will awaken in each of us the desire to serve, and will provide the opportunity for us to do so as St Paul's moves into the future where God already is.

Peace in Christ

Pastor Andrew Brook