By The Rev. Dr. Carl Grosse

At our recent Session meeting August 13, we had a very full plate of agenda items. Ashton commented that printing everything for the 15 Session members, Clerk and Moderator (17 copies total) took out several trees. We also had full attendance, which I think might be a first during my time here. In the days leading up to the meeting, I had nightmares of brutal Session meetings I’d suffered through both as a Ruling Elder and as a pastor. My fear was that it would be a 3-hour marathon after which I’d go home and ask myself (again) why I chose this line of work. 

Not only did we accomplish everything on the agenda in good order, we did so with an honest and respectful spirit that the apostle Paul would have approved of. Your Session members genuinely care for each other and for you. They want to do good work and help you effectively serve the Lord. The manner in which they discussed tough issues, offered good ideas, and kept on task, did more than make my fears look stupid. Your Session blessed me. With everything inside of me that I brought to the meeting, I felt ashamed and humbled. Did I mention the meeting went 1 hour and 15 minutes?