Remembering - The Pulpit

Back when my father was pastor of the Arthur Mennonite Church, and when he was working full time at Progress Manufacturing Co., he somehow found the time to make a pulpit for our new church building. I'm guessing it was in 1949 when the building was dedicated. This pulpit was made from scrap lumber he picked up at Progress where he was employed making hardwood caskets.

I consider this pulpit to be a work of art. It shows a lot of creativity and "professional" workmanship. And the interesting thing is, it is still in use today in that place. I have indicated to the leadership there that if at some time they choose to "retire" the pulpit I would like to have it. But now I do not have room for something that large, I decided I at least wanted some pictures, which I now have received.

My father used this pulpit for almost 10 years, until he retired in 1958. When I was pastor of this congregation from 1988 to 1995 I used this pulpit. I had a minor change made on the shelf where my Bible and notes were placed, and that change has been a part of the pulpit since.

One thing I learned in seminary was that in the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition, the pulpit in the churches was always placed in the center or the platform. This placement, I was told, was by intent and represented the centrality of preaching in the worship services. Proclamation of the Word was to be central in the worship of God's people. I was always somewhat confused when we gathered in some of the other places of worship in our town for community services, because there were two pulpits, one on either side of the platform. One needed to observe how these two pulpits were used in order to know which pulpit to go to when reading scripture or preaching. In these churches the altar table was in the center making the sharing of communion central in the service.

And so it was with some feeling of loss when the pulpit in our church was moved to one side. I was attending this church but was no longer the pastor, so I had no voice in this decision. As far as I know the pulpit pictured above is still on the side of the platform and not in the center. What does that mean? I'm not sure. Maybe it means nothing. But I also have seen the importance of the sermon diminished in many congregations by the emphasis on the style of worship and other things, such as sharing from the congregation, etc.

I guess I'm old fashioned, but I still like to hear a really strong message from God's Word given by someone who can proclaim the message with clarity and conviction. I know we can't go back and do things like we used to do but, sometimes I wonder if we aren't truly missing something when preaching is no longer the focus of the service.

I guess that's my line for today. And it all started with "the pulpit."

Pilgrim on the way

Rembering - Wheat Harvest

When I was in high school I came to Kansas from Illinois a couple of years during the summer to help my sister and brother-in-law with wheat harvest. I traveled either by train or bus, and I think one time by car back home. These were great times for me. I became reacquainted with my Kansas cousins and other family members, and with the church we had attended when living in Kansas.

Wheat harvest for Mervin was somewhat different than a lot of farmers. He didn't have a lot of resources and used older, less modern equipment. The truck I drove to haul wheat is a testimony to that. This truck didn't have a lift bed so the wheat needed to be shoveled out the tailgate when unloading into the bins. Mervin's tractors and combine worked fine, most of the time, but they often needed some major repairs in the off-season. But Mervin found a way to use this kind of machinery and was able over time to produce good crops.

Doing this kind of work in the summer time in Kansas aided me in getting a nice suntan and working some muscles I never would have used back in Illinois. It also provided me with some "scary" times I could have done without. For instance, immediately after the wheat was harvested we would begin working the ground. Plowing was done day and night when the ground was wet enough to plow, doing that until plowing was finished or when the ground became too hard for the plow to stay in the ground. I was taking my turn in the first half of the night plowing in the "back forty" when the tractor suddenly stopped. It had made a loud clunking sound when it quit and there was no doubt it would not run anymore. What I discovered was that it was in the dark of the moon and when the tractor lights were shut off it was pitch black. Needing to find my way all the way back to the house I followed the plow furrow back to the corner, followed the corners to the end of the field, then the forsaken road back to the house. I knew there were coyotes and other creatures around and not being used to that kind of environment, I was a bit apprehensive as I made that long walk.

As it turned out a couple of pistons in the engine had broken and the engine needed to be overhauled. Mervin and I towed the tractor to the yard under a shade tree and that's where the overhaul was done. That was an experience to be remembered, as I still do.

I cherish such times as those were. I learned to appreciate what it took to live without some of the taken-for-granted things we had at my home, such as indoor plumbing, running water, no stickers in the grass, and having people near by. Those, and others, were things that these people had learned to live without early on in their marriage. I still wonder at times how they did as well as they did.

Pilgrim on the way

Rembering - Moving

Moving. Have you ever stopped to count the number of times you and/or your family have moved? I think mine now stands in the mid twenties. Moves of any consequence always make lasting changes in one's life, such as the one pictured on the left.

This photo was taken just after our family started our move from Harper, KS to Arthur, IL in October 1938. It was taken near Argonia, KS when my oldest sister, Estella, wanted to stop and say goodbye to her boyfriend, John Plank, who was farming in that area. I assume that he took the picture.

As you can see the trailer we used to move was quite full. I've often wondered what all was in that trailer. The trailer was borrowed from Sam Troyer of Harper and would need to be returned early the next year. What we found out was that we could only travel about 35 mph as the trailer would begin to fishtail faster than that. The same was true when we returned the trailer the following year. Our car was a 1937 Ford sedan, which was about one year old at that time. We six people were all in there which was quite a car full.

Our travel that first day was to Harrisonville, MO where we stayed with my mother's brother and family, the Ora Hartzlers. I think we only stayed overnight and continued our journey to Arthur, IL the next day. I don't remember much more about that trip, but can only imagine what it might have been like.

This move totally changed the course of my life of course. We moved from a farm in Kansas to a town in Illinois. We didn't know anyone there, but since we moved due to my Father becoming pastor of the developing church there, it didn't take long for us to learn to know the people. We moved into what was called the "Johnny Kauffman house," for the man who owned it. After a year or so we moved to a very big and cold house at the edge of town on a temporary basis, then soon back into town into a house we would live in for quite a few years. Our family moved at least three more times in or near Arthur in the years my parents lived there. I can recall how most of those houses were laid out and remember many events that took place in them.

I will not recall the other moves that I made following my marriage, but there were many. Perhaps the move that made the greatest impact on Clara's and my family was when we moved from East Peoria, IL to Orrville, OH in 1974. Carol had just graduated from high school and soon left for college here in Hesston, KS. Gordon was a senior in high school and found the transition more difficult than he had anticipated. Ron was a freshman in high school and lost out on violin lessons which he had been taking in Illinois. Lynne was in sixth grade and truly didn't want to move, but somehow made the transition without too much ado. These were life altering changes for our children, changes which affected their life choices.

All of these events cause me to remember many things I haven't thought about for a long time, but they are all events that are part of who I am today. I cherish the pictures we have of these times as they help in bringing the past into perspective with the present.

And so I remain

Pilgrim on the way

Remembering - Angela

This is not a very good reproduction, but it is the front of a card I received from Angela Clark when we lived in New York City. It says, With My Thanks. Clara recently found the card and the enclosed note and brought it to my attention.

Angela was an hispanic lady who lived alone in a high-rise apartment in Flushing, Queens and who somehow found her way to our church. We soon discovered that Angela was walking to church on Sundays but that at times she needed to be picked up and/or taken home from the service. We did that for her many times, and of course we visited her in her apartment on more than one occasion.

Angela was what they term "legally blind," but she had found a way to read. Somewhere along our journeys as they intersected I had told her of the manuscript I had written on Eschatology, and she asked if she could read it. I loaned her a copy of one I had put together in book form not knowing if she would be able to enjoy it or get something from it or not. I discovered through this that Angela was a very learned person and that she had read extensively before her eyesight problem grew worse. The card she gave me includes a very personal and touching note in response to having read the book. I will share most of that note here as a remembrance of this woman we learned to love and appreciate. We found out not so long ago that Angela had passed on to be with the Lord.

Dear Pastor King:
It was a wonderful surprise to receive that book from you.
It is so well written that I was absorbing every sentence,
every word. It is easy to read and understand. I also like
that you have balance in the scripture, which is very important.

I admire you very much because you took a very complicated
subject. I am referring to the title - subject ESCHATOLOGY.
Before, I read about Transcendental Eschatology as eternity
is the form of true being, time is nothing but appearance and
shadow.

The term is very controversial. One idea has emerged. The
Bible presents Eschatology as the driving force of salvific
history radically oriented toward the future. Eschatology is
not just one more element of Christianity but the very key to
understanding the Christian Faith.

To Kant, Barth and others, this subject was completely
different. Your book is more precise, and clarifies better your
thoughts. May the Holy Spirit continue blessing your thoughts.

Please pray for my eyes, they are getting bad. Thank you.

Love to both of you in Christ's name.

Angela

As I have read this card several times the last few days it brings back many vivid and happy memories of this lady. She was truly a jewel.

Pilgrim on the way

Remembering - 2009

I have a couple of posts I want to do about "remembering." I have trouble remembering a lot of things anymore, and certainly pictures and other such things help with that.

This picture was put together by Facebook where I first placed it. As I reflect on the snap shots of the various things and people, I feel that I have been blest in so many ways.

I see some pictures of our immediate surroundings, the beautiful maple tree in our south lawn, the crape myrtle bush by our carport, the beautiful rose that was from some very nice bushes we have just behind our house, and the patio view I enjoyed so much last summer. There also is the very fruitful Chinese date tree near our driveway from which we, and many others, reaped a lot of very delicious dates. For all of these, and others, I am grateful. We have been given a very nice place to live and we do enjoy it.

And then there are the people. It was good to see both of the Stutzman girls again last Thanksgiving. They have grown up so quickly it seems and are now beautiful young ladies. And there's my wife, Clara, with the beautiful robe she made from scratch for our neighbor's daughter, who gave it to her daughter as a gift. I thought it was quite something, and it made me grateful for this expression of one of Clara's gifts. The other picture of her is also one of my favorites of this special person. And there's Al, one of my closest friends, and someone I can bounce anything off of and know it will be o.k. There's also one of my daughters-in-law when their family visited us last summer. Chris is a medical doctor practicing in Ohio, and I was free to solicit her expertise on some of my health concerns. And there I sit in Mervin's room listening to him explain to niece Marianne what that object was hanging on his wall - a hand corn planter. What an invention. There's also a picture of our congregation at worship during the centennial celebration we had last fall. My life is enriched in so many ways by what all of these people have contributed.

Finally I have included pictures of the 1000 word, but small, picture puzzle that our daughter, granddaughter, and my wife worked on last Christmas season when they were here. Clara needed to finish it after they were gone as they didn't get it done before they needed to leave. We enjoyed having them here very much. I have a picture of a brochure promoting a new CD being offered by Third Way Media, an arm of our denomination. It is a reproduction of many of the hymns that used to be sung by the Mennonite Hour broadcast back in the 50's. I enjoy it a lot. And finally there's a picture of the front of the book written by Roma Schmidt for our church's centennial, To Live in Christ. This book covers only the last 25 years of our church's history as another one of the first years preceded it.

And so live goes on. More memories are being made day by day. Some of these will be recorded and many will not. Some will be good, some will not perhaps. Hopefully I'll be able to catch some of the good ones on camera too.

I remain

Pilgrim on the way