Church Search Update 4

We're back from a long weekend in Philadelphia and Baltimore with progress to report. We arrived in Philadelphia at about noon on Saturday. Later that afternoon Pop had a productive meeting with Bishop Hicks of the Reformed Episcopal Church and Jon Abboud, archdeacon (assistant to Bishop Riches, whom Peter may remember, having enjoyed "preaching" along with him on Sunday mornings as an infant). Being satisfied with Pop's answers during their three hour long meeting the bishop is able to approve of his candidacy in the REC, and Jon has added his recommendation. On Sunday Pop preached at St. Matthew's (Jon's church) in the morning and in the evening we attended a supper and evangelism training at the church.

On Monday we visited the REC seminary in Blue Bell, PA. Although classes were not in session my former pastor, Dale Crouthamel, was in his office so we had a very happy reunion with him. Philly cheese steaks for lunch and then off to rent a car at the airport for the drive to Baltimore. It began to rain just as we got our luggage in the trunk and rained the rest of the day. But the trip to MD was uneventful and we arrived before dark which made finding the church easier. It's a large brick building, not terribly impressive on the outside, but with an attractive sanctuary and many classrooms, plus a small gym. We met for three hours with the search committee, spent the night with one of the couples, and had breakfast with a good number of the search committee members before returning to Philly for the flight home. The breakfast meeting, being very informal, was a good conclusion to a rather tiring weekend.

The search committee will be contacting Pop's references and we expect to hear if he is being recommended to the Vestry (the church board which hires the pastor) within the next couple of weeks. The next step would be to revisit the church to preach and meet the congregation after which we would expect them to vote.

Things went very well and we're confident the Lord will lead us clearly to the place He wants us to serve Him.

Church Search Update 3

Pop received notice from the church in Anchorage that he does not match their profile. While any rejection carries a sting--"They don't want us!--there is great consolation in knowing that the Lord is not asking us to move soooooo far away from our family.

Pop and I travel to Philadelphia this coming weekend. Please continue to pray for wisdom.

Thanks, Peter!

Thanks to Peter I have been able to move photos from my CamMedia albums to a file where I can find them and post them on my blog!

Have a guess at this gentleman's identity.

Church Search Update 2

There are two developments to report:

First, the church on Cape Cod is currently considering two other candidates as their top choices for that position. Pop is in the second tier with a number of other men, but they are "on hold" until the first two choices have been thoroughly explored.

Second, there is a new prospect in the Baltimore area.
A couple of weeks ago Pop attended a pastors' conference sponsored by Ligioner Ministries (R.C. Sproul's group) in Orlando. While there he heard a couple of men mention Reformed Episcopal Seminary, where he received his MDiv, and engaged them in conversation. They are not pastors, but on the staff of Bishop Cummins Memorial Church, an R.E. congregation without a pastor, in Catonsville, MD. In briefly discussing the type of pastor they are searching for Pop thought he might be a good prospect for them. They exchanged names and addresses and he sent them a copy of his ministerial data when he returned home.
The R.E. denomination is the one I grew up in, from about 4th grade through high school. When Pop began attending Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia we attended a R.E. church in Jenkintown where Leonard Riches was our pastor. Pop switched to the R.E. Seminary in Philadelphia for several reasons, and pastored a small R.E. church during his final years of seminary. He was ordained in the R.E. denomination and they were his endorsing agent when he was in the chaplain corps. When he left the Navy and investigated returning to the R.E. church there were a number of factors that pursuaded him to enter the PCA instead.
Pastor Riches is now the presiding bishop of the denomination and his assistant, called an archdeacon, is Jon Abboud, Pop's best friend from seminary. Pop has been in contact with Jon about the pastoral position in Baltimore. But a dialogue about the changes in the R.E. church and Pop's own views is essential before determining if that would be a wise choice for us. Consequently, we have been invited, he and I, to fly to Philadelphia on November 18 for a long weekend. On Saturday (19th) there will be a meeting with another of the bishops--fact finding for both parties. On Sunday Pop will preach at Jon's church. Members of the pastoral search committee of the Baltimore church will be invited to attend and we will be able to meet with them on Sunday afternoon. If the bishop approves and the committee desires it, we would then drive to Baltimore on Monday to meet with the entire committee and members of the church staff, returning home on Tuesday.
Please pray for insight, wisdom, and clear direction for all involved. Certainly we want Pop to find a new position soon, but there are a lot of questions we need answered before returning to the R.E.church. And they would need to know Pop's views, too.

The Peter Crum Family

Jess and Peter with their children, Ashley (3), Aravis (1) and
Jude (5) taken in October 2004.

Grand Tour Road Trip 2004

Last year the three youngest children and I took a three-week road trip to visit all the brothers who do not live with us in Florida. We saw Nate in Texas, Peter (and his family) in Colorado, Matt and Ben in Indiana, and Jonathan in Georgia.
This is a photo of William taken at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, CO last October.

Thomas' New Car

In an effort to learn how to post pictures on my blog I will send out a variety of family photos. Here is Thomas with the used car he recently purchased.