Random Thoughts on Internship

Two weeks into internship , some observations:

Deb and I are continually amazed at the amount of young families there are in this church. I could never imagine 50 plus students int he confirmation program (7th and 8th grade).

Deb has found a niche in the life of this community, already putting in a stint singing in the "2nd Sunday" praise band. As she says, it felt good to do that as it was something missing in her worship life.

Witnessed my first deer/auto accident last week. This reminds me that I need to be more vigilant in my driving to and from the cities, especially at night!

Pastor Wayne has a very dry sense of humor.

I had forgotten how antsy 6th grade boys can be. I am teaching a 6 week course on Baptism to the 6th graders and golly, these guys are all over the board. I appreciate the more mellow girls in the group!

I am still getting used to worship protocol. For example the preacher for the week sits on the left side of the sanctuary and the worship assistant sits on the right side. The first week I sat with the preacher, causing some confusion for the preacher as well as the congregation. In addition there are also the politics (for lack of a better word) of choosing hymns. the pianist and the organist trade off every other week, and each has their own favorites of preferences in what can or cannot be played. I was also taken aback when PW spoke the Kyrie and the Great Thanksgiving and the congregation replied by singing. To me it was an aural disconnect. Pastor also has a tendency to remove verses from the last hymn if he feels the service has run too long. This will take some getting used to!

The children expect treats after the children's sermon. PW has dibs on handing out Oreo cookies. I am thinking of something more like Tootsie Rolls, although I wonder what parents would say if Pop Rocks were given out instead?

Working Sunday to Thurs is definitely different. The hardest part is getting up at 6AM (to some this is considered "Oh-Dot-Thirty") on Sunday to go to work. This will take some getting used to!