The new vicar
We met the new vicar and his wife last night.
Scott (the vicar), Linnea (his wife) and Linnea's parents drove out from Edmonton and are now getting settled into the parsonage. (Or is that vicarage? I'm not sure what you call it. The house that the church keeps for our vicars. Whatever its called.)
It was neat to meet them. (Actually, my daughter already met them last month in Ottawa at the youth gathering.) They seem so excited about beginning their vicarage year. They're quite young - I'd say 23, 24 years old, around there. Linnea is quiet (at least she was last night) and a tiny little thing. She is a Lutheran teacher, just graduated from Concordia University. I'm not sure if she'll be teaching this year or not. I must make an effort to connect with her. Everybody pays so much attention to the vicar, but really when one spouse is in ministry the other is as well by default. The "other" spouse needs prayer and encouragement also.
You know, I am so grateful for women who are pastors wives. They make tremendous personal sacrifices and work just as hard as their pastor husbands do - it is just more behind the scenes. I don't mean that they want or need the "spotlight", but I think that congregations sometimes fail to recognize that the couple is really a ministry team and both of them need support.
As we were driving towards the vicar's house last night I could feel a lump forming in my throat. I still associate the place with our last vicar and I had to blink back tears before we got out of the car. I told my husband I thought I might be a little more careful this time - make a conscious effort not to get so attached to these two. My husband shook his head. "You don't have it in you," he said, and I suppose he's right. That's the way God has made me - he has given me the gift of hospitality and it is natural for me to want to welcome travellers and newcomers. And it's not hard to quickly come to love the people that God places in our lives.
I'm just going to have to learn to accept it for what it is. God is giving these people to us for a little while. While they are in our care, we will come to love them I'm sure. When they go, we won't stop loving them - we'll just love them from a distance. I guess I can live with that.
6 comments:
oooo, Linnea is a great name. I think I know a little one! *wink*
Yeah, I think you should just accept it - you're a softie and we love you that way.
I like the vicar wife's name! *wink* And, your soft heart will be a blessing to them! I promise!
Oh, to have someone like you in their congregation!!! What a lucky Vicar and wife!!! Our first congregation ther were many people who refused to "get close" to us because they had a history of pastors not staying a long time. Why invest in a friendship when the pastor is just going to leave in a few years? Well...that's one reason we felt we were called to another place! I had only one friend there! It was so hard! Here in our new town (new...we've been here over 3 years) I have one VERY close friend, and several other pretty close friends. I can't imagine life without them. Everyone needs friends! Please be there for this woman!! And, thank you for recognizing that pastor's wives do a lot of stuff behind the scenes. Sometimes it's a tough job! :o)
Blessings to you-Andie
PS...I'll work on that blogroll thingy this weekend if I get a chance!! :-)
Being a Pastor's wife is just as much of a calling as being a Pastor. I don't think it is somthing you can do without God's help....
How can you NOT develop relationships with these people so closely connected to your heart?
Dapoppins - you are so right about it being a calling.
For a time, my own husband was considering entering the pastoral ministry. While he ultimately decided that he did not have that particular call, I know for sure that I didn't!! I know that I would not make a good pastor's wife. I couldn't do it. I need to have a regular, predictable routine, and I need to have my husband around. I know that I would have ended up resenting the needs of the congregation interfering with my family life. That's why I admire those of you who do make those sacrifices for the rest of us. Believe me, I really appreciate what you (and others, like Andie and Holly) do for the sake of furthering the Kingdom.
My precious mama just died on July 26th. She would appreciate your comments about the preacher's wife and the sacrifices they make. When my mother was in college she vowed that one thing she would NEVER do was marry a preacher. Dad felt the call after he and mother had already fallen in love and so there she was.
My favorite preacher's wife story is not about my mother but it could have been. A fellow PK (preacher's kid) told me that his mother was buried with her only house key in her hand. It was the first house she ever owned after having lived in parsonages all her life. You've got people who donated furniture and fixtures and need to check on it (when it was tacky when they donated it) and the parsonage committee, etc., always coming in and out. This woman didn't want anyone entering her house after her death.
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