Good Sunday School Superintendents
In our church, the Sunday School superintendents are elected for one-year terms by members of the church. In the past, some of these people have demonstrated outstanding ability and effectiveness. Some of them have been subsequently ordained to serve as pastors. All of them have contributed something worthwhile as they carried out their duties.
Right now our two superintendents are Nelson M. and John Y. They are unlike each other, but I find it very easy to listen to them both and to learn from them. Among the traits that they have in common are these: They seek to live with integrity, treat others with kindness, and are willing to examine themselves and ask for help or input from others.
John is a first-generation immigrant to the United States. English is his second language. He came from a life of poverty in Central America. He was allowed to enter this country legally by a special act of Congress on behalf of him and his brother.* A Kansas-Democrat representative, Dan Glickman, introduced the bill that accomplished this.
On a personal note, their American father later became our bishop, and John later married the daughter of my friend, Grace. John's adopted mother was also a dear friend of mine, and their daughter married our oldest son.
The country of John's birth was in a civil war when he and his brother were adopted into an American family. Young men of adolescent age could apparently not come into the U.S. from that country as immigrants without an exception being made. Others in their age group had perhaps already joined the military conflict.
When it's John's turn to have the opening devotions in church, he often speaks of things he has learned through personal experience, or things he feels a need of in his own life. Although he is outgoing and friendly, public speaking is not something he feels very well prepared for. That doesn't keep people from listening attentively and learning from John.
As I mentioned, the other superintendent is Nelson. Nelson's parents both grew up in solid Mennonite communities. His maternal grandparents grew up in the same midwestern community as my mother, and they were dear friends of my parents after my father entered the picture. His grandfather had one of his occasional phone conversations with my dad the day before Dad died.
Nelson's father grew up in a very old traditional eastern Mennonite community. I don't know many details about the father's influence on his children, but I do know that he raised his family in settings both geographically and culturally distant from his roots. They lived in the west, one state away from the Pacific coast, and earlier, in one of the southern border states. The churches they were part of were fledgling ventures, in some respects at least, although I know few details.
Nelson married my niece after they met in school (FB). Nelson was also on staff as a 7th and 8th grade teacher in the school where I taught until I retired in 2018.
Nelson is very articulate and shows evidence of having a fine, well-disciplined, well-trained mind. All who listen to one of his devotionals might need to scramble a bit to keep up, but if they can manage it, they will probably learn something and will be drawn to God.
Nelson apparently has music pulsing through his veins. This seems also to be true of most people in the community where Nelson's dad grew up. I've been there and witnessed this first-hand, so it's easy for me to draw a straight line from that community's influence to Nelson, who uses his music ability very effectively in our church services and elsewhere. For example, last summer he and his wife helped plan and then coordinate a choir tour to the UK.
At least three times in recent months, Nelson has written a song to go with his Sunday morning devotional in church. The words are closely tied to the Scripture he's focusing on. The words and music are projected onto a screen and the congregation sings it together as part of the devotional meditation. It looks so professional that I had to look carefully at first to confirm what I suspected. In tiny letters somewhere on the screen, the composer's name (Nelson ______) appears.
Yesterday Nelson promised that he would not have a song for every devotional. I understand why this might not be possible. I really like, however, that Nelson is using his considerable talent in our local church. Whatever he decides to pursue in the future will surely not have been hindered by his willingness to serve in a small place, and I'm happy that we can benefit in the meantime.
I marvel as well at the improbable chain of events that brought John into our fellowship, and am deeply grateful that we all can benefit from his ministry among us.
Late last evening I saw my name on a ballot for a church office. This was a surprise. I don't even know what that person is expected to do, or by what process my name made it onto the ballot. My first instinct is to resist serving in that office because I don't feel that it matches my skills and interests, and I'm already not doing a very good job of handling other responsibilities and aspirations--which do more closely align with my skills and interests. Besides, when I served in a similar role when I was much younger, I consoled myself with the thought that if I take my turn now, I won't have to do it later. One of my aunts had suggested this perspective to me. It is thinking about John's service as a superintendent that provides a check for my runaway thoughts.
******************
*I'm giving these details by memory, and will make corrections later as needed if errors are pointed out to me.
Right now our two superintendents are Nelson M. and John Y. They are unlike each other, but I find it very easy to listen to them both and to learn from them. Among the traits that they have in common are these: They seek to live with integrity, treat others with kindness, and are willing to examine themselves and ask for help or input from others.
John is a first-generation immigrant to the United States. English is his second language. He came from a life of poverty in Central America. He was allowed to enter this country legally by a special act of Congress on behalf of him and his brother.* A Kansas-Democrat representative, Dan Glickman, introduced the bill that accomplished this.
On a personal note, their American father later became our bishop, and John later married the daughter of my friend, Grace. John's adopted mother was also a dear friend of mine, and their daughter married our oldest son.
The country of John's birth was in a civil war when he and his brother were adopted into an American family. Young men of adolescent age could apparently not come into the U.S. from that country as immigrants without an exception being made. Others in their age group had perhaps already joined the military conflict.
When it's John's turn to have the opening devotions in church, he often speaks of things he has learned through personal experience, or things he feels a need of in his own life. Although he is outgoing and friendly, public speaking is not something he feels very well prepared for. That doesn't keep people from listening attentively and learning from John.
As I mentioned, the other superintendent is Nelson. Nelson's parents both grew up in solid Mennonite communities. His maternal grandparents grew up in the same midwestern community as my mother, and they were dear friends of my parents after my father entered the picture. His grandfather had one of his occasional phone conversations with my dad the day before Dad died.
Nelson's father grew up in a very old traditional eastern Mennonite community. I don't know many details about the father's influence on his children, but I do know that he raised his family in settings both geographically and culturally distant from his roots. They lived in the west, one state away from the Pacific coast, and earlier, in one of the southern border states. The churches they were part of were fledgling ventures, in some respects at least, although I know few details.
Nelson married my niece after they met in school (FB). Nelson was also on staff as a 7th and 8th grade teacher in the school where I taught until I retired in 2018.
Nelson is very articulate and shows evidence of having a fine, well-disciplined, well-trained mind. All who listen to one of his devotionals might need to scramble a bit to keep up, but if they can manage it, they will probably learn something and will be drawn to God.
Nelson apparently has music pulsing through his veins. This seems also to be true of most people in the community where Nelson's dad grew up. I've been there and witnessed this first-hand, so it's easy for me to draw a straight line from that community's influence to Nelson, who uses his music ability very effectively in our church services and elsewhere. For example, last summer he and his wife helped plan and then coordinate a choir tour to the UK.
At least three times in recent months, Nelson has written a song to go with his Sunday morning devotional in church. The words are closely tied to the Scripture he's focusing on. The words and music are projected onto a screen and the congregation sings it together as part of the devotional meditation. It looks so professional that I had to look carefully at first to confirm what I suspected. In tiny letters somewhere on the screen, the composer's name (Nelson ______) appears.
Yesterday Nelson promised that he would not have a song for every devotional. I understand why this might not be possible. I really like, however, that Nelson is using his considerable talent in our local church. Whatever he decides to pursue in the future will surely not have been hindered by his willingness to serve in a small place, and I'm happy that we can benefit in the meantime.
I marvel as well at the improbable chain of events that brought John into our fellowship, and am deeply grateful that we all can benefit from his ministry among us.
Late last evening I saw my name on a ballot for a church office. This was a surprise. I don't even know what that person is expected to do, or by what process my name made it onto the ballot. My first instinct is to resist serving in that office because I don't feel that it matches my skills and interests, and I'm already not doing a very good job of handling other responsibilities and aspirations--which do more closely align with my skills and interests. Besides, when I served in a similar role when I was much younger, I consoled myself with the thought that if I take my turn now, I won't have to do it later. One of my aunts had suggested this perspective to me. It is thinking about John's service as a superintendent that provides a check for my runaway thoughts.
******************
*I'm giving these details by memory, and will make corrections later as needed if errors are pointed out to me.
posted by Miriam Iwashige at
9:58 AM
2 Comments:
I'm not surprised that any group with good sense would want you as an elected representative. There are a lot of adjectives to describe you but one is "thoughtful." I would want you as a leader because I know you would be thoughtful to the task at hand.
By
Jim Potter, at 2/09/2020
Thanks for the affirmation Jim.
By
Miriam Iwashige, at 2/11/2020
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