Archives for February 2011

I have been one acquainted with the sheep.
I have walked out in fields — and back in fields.
I have outwalked the most experienced Bo Peep.

Robert Frost will have to forgive me my petty theft, but I can think of no better way to describe my adventures as a young boy growing up on a small island in the Pacific Northwest.

Let me explain.
Rather than walk the two miles of county road between the bus stop and our family home, my brother and I would attempt to cut the journey in half by crossing into the Bond Brother’s Farm and navigate the sizable flock of sheep that stood between us and home. Sometimes we succeeded. Other times we should’ve stuck to the county road. If sheep have a mission statement, it is definitely “Strength in numbers.”

Now, as both an attendee of this church and a student of the seminary, I find myself once again confronted with my wooly friends. Only this time, my task is much different. “Feed more sheep.” This community has both challenged and identified itself by these three words. Kingston United Methodist has understood the Gospel to be a commissioning in which the life and breath of its congregation is defined by bearing witness to Christ in fields of faith and doubt; pain and healing; sorrow and joy. Although my wife, Charley, and I have only recently entered into the life of this church, we have both felt a strong sense of identification with this calling. And so the question is important: what am I doing to feed more sheep?

I find it significant that the word “sheep” is both singular and plural. One doesn’t shepard sheeps, and my brother and I weren’t terrified of those angry sheepen. No, when we speak of one sheep, our very language includes all sheep. In fact, when imagining sheep, I have a difficult time envisioning just one. Sheep are sheep. There truly is strength in their numbers.

And so when Jesus shares the Parable of the Lost Sheep in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, I can’t help but imagine what the words of the Good Shepard might have been on the return home. “What are you doing here isolated from the others? Aren’t you aware of your place with them? I did not give you life so that you could live it as an individual. I made you a sheep, and sheep are sheep.”

So here is my answer to the question: what am I doing to feed more sheep? Well, I live as a sheep among sheep, recognizing that as an individual, I am only a shadow of the life to which I am called. As an individual, I can only attempt to bear witness to a God revealed in community. But as a member of the flock, I point to the Good Shepard and say, “I am a sheep, and sheep are sheep.” Amen

February 20, 2026

My name is Marylin Smith. I am a member of Kingston United Methodist Church. The mission for our church is to “feed more sheep.” The question for the mission is, “How are you responding to God’s call to feed more sheep?” That means me. What am I doing?
1. Stewardship – I am attempting to be a better steward. A steward is someone who “oversees” the needs of the church; it can be possessions, business affairs, property, etc. Christ taught accountability and faithfulness. Life and all its possessions are our trust fund from God so we are to manage our time, abilities, and possessions to God and his kingdom to receive the greatest return. At my age, I am not physically able to contribute to some projects such as racking, painting, etc. (things that I would love to do), so I respond by helping the leaders with monetary help for things such as repairs, kitchen supplies, fund raisers, and giving to the building fund regularly.
2. Supporting Church Activities – By attending classes to become better informed about the Scriptures and Bible interpretations, I become more knowledgeable when talking to others about my faith. When I am paying attention to feeding more sheep, I want to be well informed about the comments I make.
3. Hospitality – Hospitality means being hospitable to everyone – members, visitors, and guests; greeting and welcoming people to come and visit with us; treating all people in a friendly manner. Staying for fellowship time after the service is a wonderful way to be hospitable, getting to know people, exchanging ideas, getting better acquainted. The ‘pot luck’ gatherings are another way to show hospitality. I am trying to do that; I can do that!
4. Kind Acts and Deeds – We need to be kind to all people, not just at church, but anywhere – people you meet on the street, at the grocery store, anyone you meet in your daily life. I will give you an example: In the grocery store you see many chances to be helpful. My chance came when I saw an elderly lady shopping alone, struggling to read the price and the date on an item and having a problem trying to find it. She looked at me a time or two, and I thought I sensed her need. I asked her if I could help her, and she said I could, so I read the information she needed. She was so grateful; she smiled at me and touched my arm and said, “You are very kind.”
5. Discipleship – I am striving to become a better disciple by following the teachings of Jesus because his instructions and commitments are the principals that I believe in. I am attempting to attend church regularly and have the opportunity to learn and understand the meaning of the Scriptures in a very rewarding way. I love my church and my church family, and I am hoping I can feed more sheep by “letting my light shine.”
February 13, 2026

Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. These words, spoken by George Santayana, have always reverberated in my head over the years. I was always drawn to the lessons people had learned: Newton, being rudely awaken from a perfectly good nap, reviewed that brief history and discovered God’s perfect law on gravity. Countries, nations and empires have left letters, books, whole Ages from which mankind to learn. The Bible is a great piece of history, telling peoples’ stories on both sides of the ledger. Examples of what to do, and what NOT to do. This never quite equated to a career in my head, but just a hobby of sorts while I searched for meaning in every other corner.

They say that happiness and success are elusive by nature, and, as is usual for us, the things we search for the hardest tend to be right under our nose! So, very recently, in fact, I heard clearly God’s call to me to feed more sheep by learning history, both worldly and Biblically. I am going back to school to become a history professor and continue into anthropology. I want to help fuse the Bible with the history books so that I might combine my career and passion with my faith to open the eyes of the blind sheep wandering further away from what truly is history. His story. Much like the Bible, the books ARE written physically by man, but they don’t realize the Holy inspiration behind the screenplay. Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

I never realized, though, that the voice in my head saying those words was not George, but Jesus.

February 6, 2026