Third Saturday of Easter
Many culture shocks nearly electrocuted me in Triune, Tennessee. Here is a brief sampling: Hardly anyone in Triune United Methodist Church knew what the word Triune meant. Most assumed that the church was named after the community rather than the other way around, In a sermon if I had referred to the Triune God, they would have thought I was talking about some local God. I did ask many of the members about it. Some knew that the word had something to do with the Trinity. Soon after I got there I explained in a sermon the meaning of the word "Triune." Afterward I thought, "at least I've taught them something."
On the other side of culture shock, many knew that Francis Asbury had preached in the church in 1814 and had a good idea of who Francis Asbury was. Some even knew that he was in some kind of controversy with William McKendree, after whom McKendree United Methodist Church, a large church in downtown Nashville was named. McKendree wanted to get married. Francis Asbury, who was bishop of all the Southern states was staunchly opposed. Methodists were to be circuit riders, riding from church to church on their circuits and staying with church members who would put them up and feed them. Having a wife and children would make this impossible. McKendree won the battle eventually.
Of course, these Tennessee country folk found me to be the ignorant one. I knew nothing of the local geography. Murfreesboro was one way; Franklin was another. Nolansville was where the funeral home was. To get to Nashville go west on state road 94 till you get to I-65. Go right and you'll get there in half an hour. I was visiting a couple in their home one day. I asked them if they were originally "from around here." They said no, that they were from Chapel Hill. I got very excited, told them I knew Chapel Hill well and loved it. They looked surprised. I asked them where in Chapel Hill they were from. Again they seemed surprised. They said a road whose name I didn't know. We eventually determined that they were talking about a small town called Chapel Hill, Tennessee. It was 20 miles south of Triune. They had vaguely heard that there was another Chapel Hill but weren't sure what state it was in. I went numerous times to and through Chapel Hill, TN. It had one stoplight, but it didn't need it.
Country folk love it when city slickers show their city slicker ignorance. I mentioned to the Pastor-Parish chair (chairman in those days) that the grass in the back yard was too high for me to mow. He said, "That's ok, I'll come over with my bush hog to take care of it. The next afternoon, when I got home after visiting some parishioners, I found the back yard grass completely taken care of. That Sunday I thanked the Pastor-Parish chair. I said something like, "you must have had several bush hogs for them to eat that much grass that fast." That became the church's favorite story about me.
Was culture shock a time of spiritual growth for me? It was a difficult time. In addition to the church I was also writing my Ph.D. dissertation, going through a divorce, and caring for an infant daughter (although we did have daytime help with child care). I was in an environment alien to me. I was homesick. I had little in common with the people I was serving. But I was preaching every Sunday. I was learning how to relate to my people. I accepted that many of them were going to call me, "Brother Wilson," rather than my given name. The longer I was there; the more they accepted me and I, them. I'm not sure that I was coming to know God better, but I was coming to know people better.
Faithfully,
Christian
1 comment:
My favorite story of a city slicker pastor in a situation country folk would know how to handle is, of course, the story of Stormy the Cow, who escaped the live nativity scene at Old First Reformed Church, my church in Philadelphia, a few years ago. First she went walking on I-95, then the police got her back, only for her to escape again and go to the parking garage at a nearby hotel. Our pastor, Michael, is from New York, was a pastor in Harlem and then worked for the NY Conference, and then came to Philly. He leads an amazing ministry with the urban poor, including a homeless shelter in the church and weekly breakfasts where close to 100 hungry Philly residents eat a dignified and delicious meal, served by our and other church members. He is the perfect urban pastor. But cow wrangling... not his thing. There's a video of him running down the street in the ice trying to catch the cow. All over the country and the world, people from rural areas were writing in, "This is no big deal!" People from Palestine even wrote to say that the cow was correct according to the Bible, as there was no cow in the original nativity scene. Clearly, the cow was protesting this inaccuracy. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/12/14/code-moo-cow-escapes-philadelphia-nativity-scene-twice-one-morning/953950001/
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