Monday, January 18, 2010

2010 Winter Open House at the Parsonage


 We had our annual Parsonage Open House on Sunday, January the 10th. The parsonage seems rather large until you get the three churches together in it. It was wall to wall and standing room only in the kitchen and dining room. I'm not complaining, that's just the way I hoped it would be.

 
It's always great to see all three churches of the Mount Airy Charge get together for fellowship, just hanging out together and having a good time. Most everyone knows each other and its a good time to catch up.
 
 Of course, having a table full of good food just adds to the good time. Joanne's Cousin, Charlene, catered the food for Joanne as a Christmas present. That doesn't mean that Joanne didn't have to still cook a lot and get the table set up, but it was a tremendous help.

 

 We had our youngest member with us, Cortney Dawson, from Republican Grove UMC. Cortney had actually stayed awake through the morning sermon (I usually put her to sleep) and was in a good mood for the open house. I do understand that she slept well that night. So did Joanne and I.

 
 People just seem to be drawn to the kitchen. It may be the proximity to the coffee pot. After all it was in the 20 degree range outside on that Sunday. But, it doesn't take long for a house full of people to warm up enough for folks to shed their coats.

 
 We were really happy that my parents were able to come down for the open house. It was the first time they had been to the parsonage. They've been to visit the churches enough that folks already know them, so it wasn't like they were strangers at all. Of course, someone had to tell my father that we looked like brothers and he just ate it up.

 
 I like for the members of the Mount Airy Charge to get together at the parsonage. It is truly their house and it is good for them to see that it is being taken care of. It's also good because it gives them a true sense of ownership and helps them to see improvements that need to be made. So many good things have been done to the parsonage since Joanne and I first came to the Charge. The three congregations have a right to be proud of what they've done. The parsonage has been a blessing to us, I hope it continues to be a blessing to the congregations. 

Thanks to all who came to the open house and made it an enjoyable success.

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