Ted is a hunter. He loves to go out into the great outdoors, bask in God’s glorious nature, and hopefully snag his family a deer or elk to grace both their dining room table with meat and the wall above his front door with a taxidermy head. And surprisingly, this hunter persona has served Ted well as president of the CPC for the last four years.
Thankfully, the metaphor begins to break down a bit (our heads are not displayed on his wall!), but Ted played a major role in hunting down Pastor Steve and I to Bethesda three years ago. His compassion and kindness and sharing the strengths of this congregation helped us to see that Bethesda was a place where we belonged. Since then, Ted has been a strong presence on the CPC, leading us through some difficult decisions, guiding us when things started to drift off course, talking us through the details of being good stewards of all that God has given us here at Bethesda.
He has worn his blaze orange hunter’s mantle well, allowing himself to be visible and vulnerable; he’s spent a great deal of time fielding questions, concerns, and yes, even a bit of frustration from members of the congregation, and now is the time to say thank you. Thank you,Ted for having a servant’s heart, not only for Bethesda, but more importantly for Jesus. Thank you for being open to the call from God to serve as the CPC President and for helping shape this congregation into one where people feel welcomed and loved. Thank you!
Now Ted, it’s time to blend in a bit. It’s time to put up the blaze orange and to wrap yourself in camouflage. It’s time for you to not worry anymore about all the details and meetings and budgets and reports. We are so very grateful for your faithful, visible service; and so excited to see (if you’ll let us!) where God might be calling you next!