Kate's Musings

June 16, 2022

Rev. Dr. Kate Conolly

Dear Friends,

We are now just two and a half weeks away from Rev. Karyn’s arrival as your new senior pastor. The senior pastor’s office is getting a fresh coat of paint, the SPRC has put together a welcome basket and is planning ways for you to have conversation with Rev. Karyn, she and her husband Paul have moved into their apartment in downtown Portland and have already fallen in love with the city. I hope as many of you as possible can be here to meet and greet Rev. Karyn on her first Sunday, July 3rd!  

In addition to a new senior pastor, our church is also going to be receiving a new pulpit, lectern and baptismal fount in July. Our current pulpit and lectern are now forty years old. They are showing the wear and tear of being moved many times, which is not an easy process because of the bulk and build of them. According to the Board of Trustee minutes, there has been talk about replacing them going back to 2008. 

Our new pulpit, lectern and baptismal fount are the result of a deliberative process involving the Board of Trustees, clergy, along with the Balcomb’s and Nordwall’s who have generously underwritten this project. The beautiful new pieces are being made of wood from our sanctuary and built by the same person who did the exquisite cherrywood work on our organ. The original 1957 pulpit was massive and looked like the bow of a ship. Our current pulpit is diminutive in comparison. The new pulpit will follow the trend by being more compact. It is beautifully crafted, providing sufficient “gravitas” – while also communicating the accessibility of the clergy.

The new pieces will be dedicated to Dr. Raymond Balcomb, who was the senior pastor of Portland First for nineteen years. Dr. Balcomb was known throughout our conference, and indeed nationally, as an outstanding preacher. I was one of the young clergy who benefited from his wisdom and instruction about preaching when he was a district superintendent. Dr. Balcomb called the clergy of his district his “preachers” and he made it clear to us that there was nothing more important that we did. 

In 2009, Dr. Balcomb taught a course on preaching here at Portland First – I want to end with his inspired and inspiring words about preaching from that course: 

Most people probably think of preaching as a way one person sets forth his/her views on religious subjects as a lecturer or essayist or blogger does on non-religious subjects. But famous preachers insist that it is something more than that. “The end of preaching is to inspire people how to live.”

Preaching is “a divine-human adventure.” Preaching reveals “some aspect of the reality of God in reference to some human need or condition” Paul said that his own preaching was not of human origin but was the Word of God (1 Thess. 2:13). My own definition is that preaching is the art of personally communicating a creative Word of love between God and humans with an eye to persuasion. In prayer the minister speaks to God on behalf of people; in preaching the minister speaks to the people on behalf of God. Preaching is thus synonymous with the basic biblical meaning of prophesying – speaking for God. The art consists in becoming the clearest and most effective instrument possible for God’s moving of people from lower and lesser to higher and better ways of life. The aim of preaching is thus not to elucidate a subject (as a lecturer or essayist does) but to affect the transformation of people by putting them in personal contact with the Most High. Amen, dear Ray! 

In ministry with you,

Kate

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