For Pastors

February 2012

Dear Pastor,

Chuck Holdridge, pastor at Fulton, recently e-mailed me his 2012 goals, his “guideposts for the coming year.” Number 9 was “Finding a prayer closet and locking myself in it each day.” For my entire ministry, I had no prayer closet but just did my praying at my desk. Nothing wrong with that but now that I have my own prayer closet, I understand its importance. Before the flood, my office measured 10 x 20 feet. My new upstairs “retirement” office is much smaller, a mere 9 x 10. So to accommodate all of my books, files, etc, I commandeered the attic space off of this office. I call the attic my “inner office,” but it has now become my prayer closet. Recently I showed it to the council of ten members and our new State Rep, Dr. Jim Vogel. They all smiled when they saw it. Maybe it is best that I describe this location and why it has become the perfect prayer closet, at least for me and maybe you will end up smiling too.

My attic is more like a crawl space with a slanted ceiling going from four feet to six inches over a span of 15 feet wide and a “mile” long (well, 30 feet anyway). The “half” door to enter is just a little over three feet high. It’s like the camel going through the eye of the needle. To get into my attic, you literally have to get on your knees and slither in. Now most people when they check this space out, just stoop down and look in, something like John did when he checked out the empty tomb – “. . .Stooping down and looking in . . .yet went not in” (John 20:5). But the slower running Peter when he got to the sepulcher where Jesus’ body laid “. . went into the sepulcher and saw the linen clothes lying there” (verse 6). To see and get the feel of my “inner closet” (no it’s not a tomb), you have to stoop down and crawl in on your hands and knees. It is not too convenient and certainly not too “lady like”, but once inside, things are pretty nice. I installed plush carpet on the floor making crawling on your knees more comfortable. By cutting my previous bookshelves in half, I have lined the four foot wall, three shelves high, for all of my study books. I put lights, microwave, two drawer file cabinets, etc. It has all the conveniences of any office except you can’t stand up. Okay, I hear some of your wise cracks now saying the ceilings must be really low if Craig can’t stand up. Many have checked it out but few have actually entered my “inner office/prayer closet,” but our new State Rep, Jim Vogel, joined me in a “tour” of it on his recent visit to our home. He loved it. Now more about why it is the perfect prayer closet.

I enter my prayer closet on my knees. Not a bad position to address the Lord of lords. You enter in a humble position and you exit by crawling out, humbly. It is a daily reminder of the importance of being humble which is not always easy but this morning exercise of “bowing” sure helps. Once inside, I “lock” myself in to read God’s Word (He speaks to me) and to pray (I speak to Him). When the door is closed, there are no distractions. The world is literally shut out. It is just God and me in my prayer closet. And I am in no hurry to get out. I sit on a cushion, wrap a quilt around me (there’s no heater) and enjoy precious time with the Lord. A note pad has a list of items that keeps me on target when it comes to things and people to pray about. I praise the Lord that I found my “perfect prayer closet.” I hope you found yours, Chuck.

Sincerely yours,
R. Craig Golden

For Pastors Wives

Dear Pastor’s Wife,

I found out being a Martha is more tiring than being a Mary. In renovating our flooded house, Craig decided to give up his office and turn the space into a dining room. I was excited. He even added a bigger window providing lots of natural light. We normally ate in our kitchen or if a large group, set up tables in our family room. It is going to be nice to entertain folks in a room especially to dine in. In the last few weeks, our dining room got quite a work out with family, open house, council of ten and wives, and other special guests. It was fun preparing meals and snacks for our company and feeding them in our “new” dining room. But I forgot how much energy it took to cook and bake and make everything nice. I thoroughly enjoyed it but it was tiring too. I can understand why Martha “complained” to Jesus to get some help. I do spend time each morning “sitting” at the feet of Jesus, like Mary. Those times are refreshing and actually gain strength from Him by just sitting there. “Standing” while cooking and baking is harder than sitting, I think both – Martha and Mary – ministries are needed. It would be easy and maybe pious to claim we are Mary and thus neglect being a Martha. But a balance in these areas is vital. It is important to sit and be refreshed by our Lord, but don’t forget the harder and more tiring task of being a Martha, serving.

Ann Marie Balson, daughter of Linda and Jim (Farmington), and Katie Weil, daughter of Debbie and Julien (Binghamton) are engaged. Brandon Craig, youth pastor at Glen Baptist (Watkins Glen), became engaged to Katherine Emmons from the church and a June 9th wedding is planned. Our sincere congratulations to all of these folks.

Sue and Larry Semans (Dundee) became grandparents again when Stephen Larry Spink was born in Chile on January 9th to missionaries Jon and Kim Spink. The baby is named for his two grandfathers, Larry and Dr. Stephen Spink.

We say good-bye to Pam and Bob Bridge from Mortons Corners (Springville), Laura and Matt Harding, youth pastor at Tuscarora (Addison) and Jeanne and Dave Coy (Cortland). Dave will become the assistant director at BaYouCa. We wish them God’s best in relation to their new ministries.

We are excited about the Ladies’ Advance on June 1-2 at SUNY Cortland. We are working on a brochure and should be in the mail in March. We are praying that you are planning to attend with your ladies. Let’s have a big attendance to welcome Jeannie, our new State Rep’s wife. Please, please talk to your ladies now so they can plan and save for these two days. We are competing again this year for motel space. The big soccer tournament has blocked out a majority of the rooms. Although we were able to get some for our ladies, we are highly recommending that you stay in one of the dorms. This year we are offering as an option rooms with air conditioning. The price is $39 per person with (AC) and $29 without. The price is based on two in a room and includes all linens. You might be able to secure motel rooms in those blocked out by the soccer tournament after May 7th when they release extra rooms from their block. Anyway, there are plenty of rooms in the dorms, all within walking distance to the main sessions.

Layered Lemon Dessert
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup finely chopped pecans
FILLING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1- ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1-1/2 cups whipped topping
2 cups of sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups water, divided
3 eggs
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Cut butter into flour until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool. Beat cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until fluffy. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over crust; chill.
In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add ¼ cup water and stir until smooth. Add eggs and mix well. Add vinegar, lemon juice and remaining water; stir until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat; add butter and extract. Cool. Spread over cream cheese layer. Chill 2 hours or overnight. Yield: 12-16 servings.

Shirley