---- — I recently attended the regional assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Pennsylvania, of which I serve as moderator (chairman of the board). During that three-day event near Pittsburgh, I was recognized for 31 years of ministry and reflected that the congregation I am serving in Hermitage is one of the oldest in our denomination in Pennsylvania, celebrating its 184th birthday this year.

Where does the time go? I look at the calendar and realize that we are already more than halfway through this year, and next month I will be walking down the aisle with my youngest child, daughter Kara, for her wedding, at which I also will be presiding in what I expect to be a very emotional service. What happened to my little girl? It seems like just yesterday that our family was celebrating my oldest son’s 30th birthday, and yet I remember the very day – the very moment – when he was born. How can that be?

I don’t know about you but as I age, I realize how quickly time does fly. I have been in my current position in Hermitage for seven years now and yet it seems like only yesterday. While I often wish there were more hours in the day to do everything I need to do, sometimes I wonder how I can slow that process of time down to enjoy each day a little more fully. Surely God can make possible this simple request to allow me more time to “stop and smell the roses.” Yet, as the saying goes, “time marches on.”

It was nearly 45 years ago that I received the call to ministry through my grandmother (long since deceased). God has been good to me through the years, and while he has supported me and encouraged me, He also has allowed me to experience real pain, suffering, tragedy and loss of family and friends. Through it all, He has been a very present part of my life, sustaining and giving to me the richest grace and mercy that any child of God could ever hope for.

As a young person, I remember wishing that I could grow up faster – be an adult, have a driver’s license, do the things that adults enjoy doing. Yet, here from the vantage point of being an adult, while not entirely wishing my childhood to return, I do at times wish for what I thought were slower days and wishful days of carefree living.

Recently, I returned to my hometown where I spent many years growing up as a child and retraced my daily bicycle route that carried me from home to school, to the barbershop, to the corner drug store where I could get a refreshing drink for around a dollar, to the homes where my friends lived, to the ballfield, to the library where I often did homework, to my grandmother’s house where I spent every moment I possibly could. Family (mostly aunts and uncles and cousins) all lived within a 10-mile radius of our home, while today my closest child is 350 miles away.

The ebb and flow of life are challenging as we age, and even as I see church members caring for their aged parents, and needing to find new housing situations for them, I know that they too are remembering a very different time when life was more kind and gentle and their parents were still independent and strong. I hear of people talk of when the church was full to capacity, I hear people tell of the bright and glorious times of the Shenango Valley when industry was at its height, and when everyone who wanted to work was working a good job. How times have changed. Not always for the good, so we think, but always according to God’s plan.

While God’s plan for each of us continues to be revealed, the advance of time challenges us each day to do the work God has called us to. I do hope and pray that these summer months, while quickly passing, will afford you the opportunity to connect with family and friends, to reminisce, to slow down, relax and rest, but will also be a time of refocusing your efforts on seeking new ways to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in these magnificent times.



The Rev. Dr. Jeffrey T. Moore is senior minister of Central Christian Church, Hermitage.