When I arrived at Unidos por Cristo, it was very obvious that I was the new pastor. They'd heard their new pastor was not Hispanic and I was the only unfamiliar un-Hispanic face in the building.
After two weeks at Orange, I am still meeting folks who don't realize that I am the new associate pastor. They've been out of town on the weekends and so haven't seen me in services; during the week, they assume I'm part of the preschool or one of the other events happening daily at the church. In a congregation of 500 that's predominantly white, it's easy to assume that an unfamiliar white face is just someone else you don't know.
Last week I volunteered with the church at the Interfaith Council Homeless Shelter. Only I didn't tell anyone I was coming. I arrived in the kitchen and said, "Hi, how can I help?" I was put to work before one of the other volunteers whispered to her husband, "psst, that's the new associate!" I wasn't trying to be secretive, I'm just more comfortable saying, "Hi, what's your name?" than "Hi, I'm the new associate pastor." Later on, I was talking with another church volunteer (who was smart enough to ask back, "what's your name?"!) and another church volunteer joined us just as we were talking about my predecessor. The two talked about how they missed the previous associate and the second one said, "but I hear our new associate has her own gifts and talents." I didn't interrupt her, just introduced myself to her when she was done. Good thing she had only heard positive things about me!
No comments:
Post a Comment