Pastor’s Corner: Clown Car

Last week, clergy of the Hawai’i Conference gathered in Kailua-Kona for our annual Clergy Retreat.

I arrived in a clown car.

That’s not a comment on the vehicle, which Newton Chu so generously found for me before I ever arrived and for which I’m profoundly grateful. No, that’s a comment on the fact that I was part of the leadership group – Hawai’i Island Association hosted the event – so I Came Prepared.

I brought a communion set, and candles, and decorative cloth to create a worshipful space. I brought copies of a worship handout and a Bible.

I was also a music leader, so I brought an ukulele and a guitar. And if somebody else wanted to join in (and somebody did), I brought two more guitars. Plus a music stand, guitar stands, ukulele stand, and various bags to carry it all.

Oh, yes: I brought clean clothes, a toothbrush, and mustache wax. I always have to have mustache wax.

Unloading my vehicle was what made it resemble a clown car.

I’ll say this: it took far less space to pack for myself than it did to pack for the needs of the group. One backpack sufficed for me. The trunk and the backseat filled up with the rest, most of which was intended for others to use.

In the moment, I didn’t see it, but now I do. Most of the space went to serve others.

Without commending myself, I think I’ll take a lesson from myself, and see if I can make more of “my” space serve others: my physical space, my emotional space, my prayer space, my work space, my life space. If it makes my life more closely resemble a clown car, well, so be it.

I think God will smile.

Blessings,

Pastor Eric

Photo credit: Rev. Lauren Medeiros lighting a candle during worship at the Clergy Retreat in Kailua-Kona (and yes, I brought the candles). Photo by Charles Buck, used by permission of the Hawai’i Conference UCC.