Pondering

I ponder and muse today about several things. First of all, as a retired minister when not preaching as a guest minister I take opportunity to visit local congregations of various denominations. In my many visits, there has been only one to make a follow up call or letter. The lady pastor called me the Monday after I had visited and during our chat I told her I was seeking a spiritual home. She assured me that she would do her best to help me along my spiritual journey. I enjoyed her sermon this past Sunday and I enjoyed our conversation on Monday. I plan to attend this next Sunday as well.

For the last several weeks, babies, infants, and toddlers have been left in cars by their parents or mothers. The television stations have done feature articles on these events noting that the temp inside the cars could within minutes reach a 100 degrees or more. Most of the moms indicated they had "forgotten" they had the baby with them or concluded they would be okay for "just a minute or two." The latest incident occurred at a near by theme park...where fortunately some tourist saw the infant in the locked car and called security. The mother's explanation was that she left the child there while she went into the theme park to pick up another child. Is preoccupation or 'forgetfulness' an excuse for the endangerment of a child? I think not.

For the last month or so I have been receiving letters from our denominational college and seminary requesting a donation to help them achieve a matching challenge or to balance the year end budget. Well, guess what? I need their help during my retirement years. After 40 plus years as an active pastoral minister, I have no retirement income other than Social Security and the part time position at the community college. Why do I not have a retirement income? Simple and short. The churches I served did not or would not participate in the denominational retirement plan. The denomination or its presbyteries did not make it a mandatory part of the minister's salary package. Thus, basically I live on Social Security. And, we all know what the economy is doing to our finances. It's either $4 for a gallon of milk or gasoline. So, will I send a donation to the college or the seminary? I think not.

Have a great and wonderful day.