Pastor Don's Ponderings

 Attending a volleyball match the other evening, I was in an excellent position to capture a few photos of our granddaughter, Norah, on the court throughout the sets. After arriving home and taking some time to sort through the photos which, earlier, I had only seen through the cell phone lens, I realized that many of the images captured Norah soaring through the air, flying in such a manner as to meet the volleyball and command its return to the hinterlands on the other side of the net. Looking through the photos time and time again, it occurred to me . . .  Superman has children - and the oldest of them is named Norah. Oh, I have observed this mild mannered young lady since first she was born and, to be perfectly candid, I didn't realize how obvious her superpowers are. So on this day, it was as though she arrived at the gym as a normal young lady, hanging with her teammates, making jokes, assessing the other team, warming up, getting ready. Yet, somewhere in the midst of th...

 While looking through a few of my Mom's photos this morning - she took thousands of photos over the years - I came across Mom's early version of a panoramic photo, most likely taken with an old-fashioned Brownie camera. Two photos taken in as close to symmetry as humanly possible, while  holding a Brownie camera, then carefully cropped and taped together to create one scene - and this scene takes away my breath. Just for clarity, I am the one in the stroller, so my personal memory of this moment in time is fairly non-existent. Still, this scene takes away my breath, both for the scene which is captured and the people who are there.  In the foreground is my Grandma Triefenbach, who died when I was three, and Grandpa Triefenbach, who then lived with us for many years. My Dad, who is carrying all of the cane fishing poles, recently passed, and my cousin, Jack, with whom I became friends before his family moved away. In the background, Uncle Elbert, my Mom's brother and Jack...

This is an open letter to the Lebanon Area Ministerial Council of Churches and some key Lebanon Leaders. Though the contents are for prayerful consideration in Lebanon, perhaps others in neighboring communities or states will resonate with some of that which we are attempting to do in meeting the needs of the present age. Please read on and, if you choose, share with others as is appropriate. God's richest blessings in this difficult and challenging time. My sisters and brothers in Christ’s Service, A blessed Wednesday to you all. There are a couple of things we need to have on the collective Table of the Lebanon Community Council of Churches: The United States Census forms are coming out. Your parishioners can fill them out and mail them in OR do them online. Either way, these forms are critical for the City of Lebanon in terms of funding, services and voices in legislative matters, both in our State and in our Nation. Be sure to underscore ...

'FAMILY' IS THE VISION OF WHAT EVERYONE BECOMES WHEN WE ENTER THE KINGDOM. I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL THAT YOU AND I ARE PRIVILEGED TO EXPERIENCE THE VISION OF FAMILY HERE ON EARTH, A FORETASTE OF WHAT IS TO COME IN CHRIST. "On earth as it is in Heaven."

Farming is a very solitary vocation, even while done in community. Just ask a farmer. This is Bob Lehman, a neighbor of ours just a few miles away. He and my Dad have known each other for years and, though none of the ground we farm adjoins Bob's, still he and we are members of that steadily shrinking number of folk who can claim that, indeed, they are farmers. The vocation names them together, the isolation identifies them singularly: They may all be doing the same task at the same time, but there is only one who farms the fields you farm, the way you farm them, with the interest and commitment with which you approach it. When you are running the combine, you - and only you - are responsible for the outcome. Drive by any field being harvested. Ever notice stalks of corn standing where the rest of row is gone? Or a strip of wheat in the middle of a pass? Or a short row of soybeans standing where none others are left? Did you ever wonder why that happened? Only the farmer know...

My Dad, Melvin, is 94 years of age. He is the youngest man I know in both mind and spirit. Every day he rises early, eats breakfast, tends to the chores around his place, drives from his place to the main farm to confer with my brother, Larry, on what things need to be accomplished that day then, depending on the outcome of that conversation, heads out to whatever is next on his list. Usually around 5:00 p.m. he wraps up his day and heads home for the evening. For as long as I can remember on our family dairy farm, which now hosts a black Angus cow/calf herd instead of the Holsteins I once knew, Dad got up before sunrise and worked until he was done for the day, whenever that may be. Now, as then, by his example he sets a standard of accomplishment which guides my daily life and witness in ministry. Funny thing, though, at the tender age of 94 Dad apologizes for not putting in more than about 8 or 9 hours a day helping on the farm . . . and I smile when I hear young folk today lob...

How many times has it been said to me, "Just stay on track!"? Then I see a sight such as this and mull on those words as a blessing . . . May the track your life is on bring you to the newness of sunrise each day. May your every sunrise be filled with the colors of beauty and delight. May you not be so busy that you don't have time to have a cup of coffee and visit with the people at the rail side elevator as you move ahead. May the 'sailor's warning' of such a dawning find its resolve in the 'sailor's delight' of an evening spent with friends and family reflecting on a day lived well. At the spot where rails and trees seem to converge, may you find your way continuing to open before you, straight and true, leading to peace and content along the way. May the foundation under your tracks be set upon the certainty of Faith in God, the strength of Christ the Rock, and the solid unwavering Love of the Holy Spirit. May the countryside through...

I have learned a few things from the land, not everything, but a few things, enough that just looking at this picture taken during a moment's reprieve from Fall tillage while overlooking the pasture and creek just to the South at sunset, causes me to mull over a couple of those things: If you are so busy making a living you don't have time to occasionally enjoy a beautiful sunrise or sunset, you need to stop what you are doing and start making a life which savors such gifts. No one knows when the sunset we observe becomes the sunset of which we are a part. Watch how beautifully and majestically creation does it, then try to do the same each day on your journey. The most beautiful of sunrises and sunsets often includes a variety of clouds which reflect both light and color, so why are we surprised when clouds come into our lives? Perhaps they are the necessary precursors of memorable new beginnings just waiting to happen. From where I am in life, crossing the creek in ...

On my way to work this morning I called my brother, Larry, to find out what is going on at the family farm. It was one of those moments when, as soon as he spoke, I knew he had a cold. You could almost hear and see the sinus' dripping through the cell connections and he sounded horribly stuffed up . . . and he was walking towards the shop as he talked with me: They are working on the planter today. Rain, sleet, snow, burning sunshine, foggy mornings, there is always something to be done on the farm and rarely, rarely, is there time for sickness of any kind. This is the mindset into which I grew up on our family dairy farm: No matter how you feel, the cows still have to be milked, the heifers and calves have to be fed, the chores need to be completed and, oh if that isn't enough during this time of the year, there are always fences to be fixed, trees to be trimmed in the pasture, equipment needing repair before Spring and book work to be done to facilitate everything else. ...

OUR WORLD WOULD DO WELL TO REMEMBER THAT ASCENDING TO THE KINGDOM IS NOT ACCOMPLISHED BY STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF OTHERS, BUT BY BOWING DOWN BEFORE OTHERS IN HUMBLE SERVICE, EVEN WHEN YOU KNOW THEY WILL BETRAY YOU. STILL YOU HAVE FAITH, STILL YOU BOW DOWN, STILL YOU SERVE. ALLOW GOD TO TAKE CARE OF THE REST. (c)dcw2020

Just the sight of Fall tillage makes me smile. Anyone connected with farming smells a picture like this as much as we view it, maybe more than we want to admit. There is something about ground being opened in the Fall, something about the manner in which soil rolls around the tillage tool, something in the sound of the tractor pulling the tool and something in the sound of dirt opening and closing behind you which makes a farmer's heart happy . . . and the smell, the smell of Fall time tillage is luxuriant.  Fall tillage is essential for the coming crop year. Though not every acre of soil can be tilled in the Fall, due to erosion risk and crop history, those acres which can be tilled, weather permitting, are often done at something of an angle to the planting direction to facilitate cutting through layers of compaction. Yet, more than that, deep Fall tillage buries some of the refuse from the previous years crop, allowing for a more rapid rotting of the plant into needed hum...

Stopping at the door of the Vestry, one of my parishioners caught my attention before worship on Sunday, handed me a small magazine and simply said she enjoyed the article and thought I might, as well. It was the February 2020 issue of the Reader's Digest . Prominent above the printed pages was a sticky note which marked an article she wanted me to read and the words, "I've always felt people aren't so bad one on one." It was signed, "Kathy". The article highlighted by Kathy Hardin-Odle is, "Kindness, Pass It On!" This article is the record of a variety of Twitter conversations which seek to tell the story of kindness as people have experienced it along the way. The words recorded there bring tears on the train, give pause along the pathways and traverse the skies above us, all of them intended to remind us that there is good at work in the folk around us, if only we are open to the possibility and watching for the impact . . . all of whic...

One day last Fall I had the opportunity to ride a few rounds in the combine with my brother, Larry, as he clipped off another field. For those who are not accustomed to such a sight, this is a soybean field and we are sitting in the cab of the farm's John Deere combine. What you see in front of you near the ground is the header of the machine, the reel turns in a forward fashion bringing the standing crop into the header, which then moves it back into the rotary separator in the largest portion of the combine. The soybeans, once separated from the stalk and pod of the plants, will then move by way of the clean grain auger into the hopper on top of the machine and the residue of the soybean plant will be chopped and scattered behind the machine. It is really something to watch, especially when you can do it up close from in the cab sitting next to the operator. A ride with Larry in the fields is seldom just a ride. The cab is his office for a large amount of time in Fall, so as...

And so it happened . . . I received a text from our son, Ray, concerning our grandson, Holden, and his upcoming Cub Scout Pinewood Derby car, "Dad, would you mind coming out of retirement and giving Holden a hand on his car? The derby is at the end of the week." Just the request made me smile, as I remembered back to all of the cars our three sons and I had made in my basement shop over the years. Though I am not certain of the final number, it would have to be around 15 cars . . . sometime I will have to count them, for they are all up on a rail on display in my shop in our home. Each car reflects a bit of the personality of the son who imagined it, worked on it, raced it and cherished it. Each car held a place of high value and esteem in their lives - until they left home and the car was left with Mom and Dad for 'safe-keeping'. Each car now resides near me as I work on other projects and, now, each car looks on as the next generation begins th...