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          I have agreed to participate in the reading of a book that Joan Shiels is presenting to the congregation. It’s a book about refraining from complaining. Admittedly it is a book I desperately need to read, since complaint is a behavior born and bred into me from infancy. Complaint puts the focus on the self, a myopic condition that contributes to the individualistic ills of a narcissistic society.

                Please understand that I am making these comments before reading the book. I do not know what will come of the process that awaits me (that awaits us). I know that there is a strong biblical tradition of lament. Psalm 21, for instance, was central to the Blue Christmas service in December (thanks Joan). We need to express our pain and grief and sorrow, to be sure. But I will wait to see what the author of this complaint free book has in mind.

                For now, I will begin 2008 with gratitude. I am grateful to be here among you serving as your pastor. I am grateful for the presence, collegiality, and ministry of Pastor Joan Shiels. I am grateful for the many forms of service that all of you provide, service that congeals into this thing we call a congregation. I am grateful for strong and vibrant leadership. I am grateful for a renewal of faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, a renewal that sustains me in my ministry here. I am grateful for the staff, for Sue Maynard’s years of service, and for the service of someone who will soon be working next door to my office in the new year. I am grateful for Mary Hall and Camille Bertagnolli who, together with the choir, brighten our worship with song.

                I am grateful to my loving spouse, Lori, who stands by supportively even through the tough and sometimes painful times of parish ministry. I am grateful to Ann Jinkins as Moderator for her stabilizing and gentle leadership through a continued time of transition (we are always in transition of one sort or another), and to Nancy Feld who keeps her finger on the pulse of the congregation as the Member at Large.

          I begin 2008 with gratitude in my heart, and more importantly, in my mind. It is that state of consciousness that engenders gratitude that will be the best weapon against complaining. When our attention is focused on those things that birth gratitude within us, we will find ourselves responding rather than reacting to others, and to the world around us. I look forward to this grand experiment, and encourage you to join me in the effort.

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Pastor Vance Toivonen