Pam Phillips-Burk - Whatever You've Done To The Least Of These...
Exploring faith journeys and inspiring ministries that embody the good news of God. This is the Cumberland Road. I'm your host TJ Melanosky. Today I get to be in conversation with the Reverend Doctor Pam Phillips Burke. Pam is the Pastoral Development Team Leader in the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination. Pam's faith journey has her previously serving the denomination in women's ministry and congregational ministries. She is a graduate of Memphis Theological Seminary and McCormick Theological Seminary. And Pam has served congregations in Alabama and Tennessee. In this conversation, Pam shares a realization of God nudging her through others. She talks about the life experiences that have been beneficial in her ministry now. Our conversation takes place from home and you can hear the rhythms of family activities And we even get a bit of background music as Pam's daughter, Caroline, takes a piano lesson online during our conversation.
T. J.:Pam, how are you?
Pam:I'm doing well. Thank you, TJ.
T. J.:No. Thank you for joining me on this podcast. Been looking forward to this. Looking forward to hearing your faith journey. Pam, you and I are our coworkers at the Cumberland Presbyterian Center, our headquarters, and you are the team leader for the pastor development ministry team but you had to begin somewhere.
T. J.:You didn't begin there as the team leader. Let's start our conversation about a journey about your experience. Share with me an early experience that you had with God.
Pam:Well, I think I have a textbook answer. I was nine years old, and it was at church camp. It was my one and only time to go to church camp. As a child, I didn't go back to church camp until I was a counselor in college. Anyway, as typical of most church camps, the final night, there was this huge bonfire, and everybody was sitting around that bonfire singing Kumbaya and all that important stuff that you do at church camps and bonfires.
Pam:And there was a speaker there, and I don't even know who that speaker was. But evidently, he was a great speaker because before long, everybody started crying and hugging each other. And before I knew it, people were getting saved and whatever that means. And I was one of those people, and I got saved on that night. And I didn't really know what that meant.
Pam:I just knew that people were excited and people were hugging me and it just felt like it was a very loving time. So the next day, the lady from our church that took us to church camp took us dropped us off at my grandparents' house. We were staying there in the summer with them. And, when she dropped us, my sister and I, off at my grandparents' house, she said to me, Pam, don't you have something to tell your grandmother? Well, I looked at her, and I didn't really know what she meant.
Pam:And she said, don't you want to tell her what happened last night? And, so in a way, that was my first testimony. And miss May Jean Hughes kinda walked me through it. So I told my grandmother what happened, and even then I didn't know what happened. Now my grandmother, she was a very busy woman.
Pam:She worked in the garden. She cleaned house. She cooked. She never sat down, unless all the work was done. But later that morning, she sat down on the front porch swing with me, and she laid on her lap an open to confession of faith.
Pam:And in her own way, she told me what happened to me the night before and what was going to happen to me. And even then, I didn't know it. You know? But much later, I realized the significance of what she'd done in trying to tell me about what was going on in my life. I didn't understand it.
Pam:Two, three weeks later, I was baptized in the Lexington Cumberland Presbyterian Church by, brother Buddy Copeland. I didn't really understand what that meant. I remember the dress that I had on, and I remember I was worried that it got wet from the water that was poured on my head. I remember that, but I didn't know what that meant. I just knew that something was different, that people were excited.
Pam:There was much love. So I remember those things. I remember, my parents didn't go to church. My mother, worked at a nursing home most Sundays, and then my dad wasn't a big church goer. So my grandparents made sure that we went to church and vacation bible school in the summer, and it was Lexington Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
Pam:So I remember this one particular vacation bible school. I don't remember any other bible schools except this one. I remember playing duck, duck, and goose. I remember the the customary red Kool Aid and sugar wafer cookies, and I remember craft time. And I remember miss May Jean Hughes, my driver to a church camp, she was the director, I guess.
Pam:And I remember her telling the giving us the word reverence when we were in the sanctuary. So that was the word. That was the vacation bible school I remember. The thing I remember most about that vacation bible school is the craft class. There were two young, I guess, teenage girls.
Pam:One was the preacher's kid, Connie Copeland, and the other one was Pam Tanner. I think that was her her make her not her maiden name. But, anyway, they were the, you know, idols, my idols. They were wonderful. I wanted to grow up to be just like them, and I remember the craft gluing seashell macaroni pasta on a cigar box, spray painting it white with multicolored glitter.
Pam:And I remember the excitement of Connie and Pam in helping me create this craft. I remember the pink lining in that cigar box, and I remember they took me outside, to spray paint it and get it ready. I remember the love and care of those two teenage girls, walking alongside me with that craft. That's what I remember. Then long story short, I remember, when I was ordained, I was ordained at Florence Cumberland in the Florence Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
Pam:And at that time, Connie Copeland Cornelius was the music director or the pianist at that church. And during my ordination service was the very first time that I celebrated the sacraments and served communion. And after the service was over, Connie came up to me and she said, I felt so honored to be the very first person that you served communion to. And it clicked for me then. She was that teenage girl in my vacation bible school class where I saw Jesus.
Pam:And I didn't make that at all until later. I didn't make that connection until much later. And so I just see the value of how God is revealed in the midst of relationships and mundane everything everyday things like seashell pasta on a cigar box. So that's my earliest experience of God. And those people and their everyday love and care.
Pam:It's my earliest experience.
T. J.:How did you go from the little nine, 10 year old girl who was at the cusp of a brand new relationship to the ministry to the word and the sacraments?
Pam:Well, that's an interesting story. I, went to college, University of North Alabama, and stumbled my way into a secondary education degree, with a concentration in biology and history. I'm not history buff. I only got I only got history because I had to have a double major at that time to be certified. I had to be able to teach two courses in high school, and history was the quickest one I could get.
Pam:I loved biology. I was headed into the high school biology classroom. During college, I worked part time as a youth director at the Florence Church. Loved it. Loved it.
Pam:Loved it. It fed my programming and ministry hunger, I guess. So I was getting ready to graduate with this teaching degree, teaching certification. And at the time, the at the church, Florence Church, brother George Warren was getting ready to retire. He'd been at that church for twenty five years or more, and his secretary, who'd been there almost as long, was gonna retire as well.
Pam:And the church kinda wanted me to transit to to be the staff person to transition that. So they put together several jobs, youth director, children's director, DCE, and church secretary, in order to offer me a full time job by the time I graduated. At the same time, there was a science position coming available at a junior high school in my hometown of Anderson, Alabama. Was a school that went through first through eighth grade, and they needed a science teacher. And I saw myself in that classroom.
Pam:I had everything organized. I was the hometown girl. Everybody knew my daddy. I was supposed to get that job. I interviewed for that job, did a great job in the interview, and they gave it to a man on the other side of the county who could coach football.
Pam:Was I bitter? No. I wasn't bitter. And I often tell people it was because God closed that door for me because God knew that I was gonna walk through the wrong door. So God closed the door to the classroom and opened the door to the church.
Pam:I took the church job, I guess, by default and stayed there another eight, seven, or eight years and loved it. And while I was there, as I call myself a lay professional, while I was there, I worked through two different pastoral transitions. And in the last transition, an elder and I, Jeff Cornelius, connected to my long term, you know, VBS teacher, He and I were responsible for making sure that worship happened every week, that that there was a preacher in the pulpit. And talk about stress. That was good training for what I'm doing now, really, as a team leader.
Pam:I just thought about that. But during that time, I thought, you know, I this is not a good place for me to be. I I guess I began to to ponder then, you know, maybe I could be the one filling the pulpit. It was during that time as well that I heard the very first my very first woman preacher. We needed someone to do a beautiful candlelight Christmas service, and so I called up Evelyn Broder, who lived in Huntsville, and she came over, and it was the first time I'd ever heard a woman preach.
Pam:So long story short, after about eight years, I left that church, and I went to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as a program director in Huntsville, Alabama. During the time that I was at that church, and I was only at that church for a year in Huntsville, but it was there that I discovered, really discovered, worship and liturgy. I was hooked with liturgy and worship through St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Huntsville, Alabama, although I was still toying with this idea of ministry. So I visited with the, committee on the ministry for at that time, it was called Tennessee Valley Presbytery.
Pam:That was the old presbytery, new old presbytery before they were divided up into four or five other smaller ones. But, anyway, I remember I went before that committee, and I I was trying to tell them, you know, I I don't wanna preach, but I want to serve in the church, and I feel like I need to be ordained to do that. So they sent me on my way and said, you need to just keep exploring this. I don't think it's time. So after a year at the Lutheran Church, I went to Memphis Theological Seminary.
Pam:Prior to that, that summer, I took my Lutheran kids to a synodical youth camp in Georgia. And I promise you this is how it happened. During a get acquainted game, you know, those games that we love and hate. During a get acquainted game, one of my partners was a minister, Reverend David Hood, who was serving at NCD in Cordova, Tennessee. And he said, where are you from?
Pam:And I said, I'm Huntsville, but I'm gonna be moving to Memphis soon to go to seminary. And he knew the seminary. He had been a mentor for pastors at the seminary. And he said, really? I live in Cordova, and we're looking for a program director.
Pam:Do you want a job? That actually happened. So I moved to Memphis. I worked at that Lutheran church for three years of my seminary career. And it was like I would read something in class at seminary, and then I would go live it out with pastor Hood at that church.
Pam:It was just great training. It was such a wonderful experience, and it just deepened my love for worship and liturgy. And at one point in my seminary career, I thought, maybe I need to go to Columbia, South Carolina to finish up my degree and become a Lutheran pastor. That's how close I was. But God kept me in the CP church, and so I'm here to tell about it.
Pam:My time in the Lutheran church really solidified, I think, my call into ordained ministry. I remember I preached my very first sermon at that Lutheran church. God help them. Lord help us all with that sermon. Also, that was the very first time that I'd at that my very first sermon, I had an immediate, after the service, little back and forth theological conversation with a man in the congregation who kinda he didn't take offense, but he kinda said, you know, I don't agree with whatever it was I said.
Pam:And I and I loved him. He's a great guy. And so I kinda learned, you know, that you can have church members and have conversation with them and and disagree and everybody go home and things are good. So, anyway, it was at the Lutheran Church that I'm really Cumberland Presbyterian.
T. J.:So, Pam, what I'm hearing is you need to, like, avoid camps and vacation bible school because these are, like, pivotal points in your faith journey.
Pam:Yeah. Yeah. And get acquainted games. You never know what's gonna happen in the middle of a of an icebreaker get acquainted game.
T. J.:Pam, could you share with me some of the individuals who've had a great impact on your faith journey? You've alluded to some along the way. Is there anyone else that you would like to add?
Pam:Well, yes. There there are two people, I think. I mean, you've heard about the ones in my early life and my early career. There are a couple of people that have been, I think, very instrumental in. One is Virginia Edwards.
Pam:She's deceased now. She was the director of Christian education at the Dyersburg Church for twenty five years. And I met her when I worked at the Florence Church through a program called the Logos Ministry. So we kind of kept in contact throughout the years while I was at the Florence Church, and she was still serving the Dyersburg Church. And every opportunity that she got me, she would always that she that we interacted, she would always encourage me to continue growing in ministry.
Pam:She never would come out and say, you need to be ordained at that at our early relationship, but that's what she meant. And eventually, did come out and tell me, you you need to go to seminary, and you need to be ordained. And I think she said that because maybe she had maybe thought she should have done that, but she was a big supporter of women in ministry. So when I graduated from seminary, she was graduating from the Dyersburg Church after serving it for twenty five years, and the church was also going through a pastoral transition. Reverend Thet Schoch was retiring after about twenty five or thirty years.
Pam:So again, a time of pastoral change. I I was issued a call to the Dyersburg Church's associate in Christian education, the associate minister in Christian education, and I went there during a time of great transition for that congregation. So now that makes about one, two, three, four, about five or six or seven jobs that I've had or ministry jobs that I've had in the church that there's been a pastoral transition, and I'm just now connecting those things because that's what my part of my job is about is helping pastors transition those changes and walking alongside churches. I TJ, I've never I've never put that together in the two and a half years that I've been serving as PDMT leader. I have I have been in multi pastoral transition settings.
Pam:Just now it's come together for me. And that's amazing. That is amazing. Anyway, she was a she was a big supporter of of me, and she was a big prayer supporter. I I called her my mentor ministry.
Pam:And I I remember every time that I had some kind of catastrophe or crises or anxiety ridden moment, I would always go to her, and she would always say, well, let's spend some time in prayer. Or she would say, come down to the library for a season of prayer. And I remember when I preached her funeral a few years ago, that was my sermon title, a season of prayer, because that's what she always was. At toward the end of her life, she was she was bedridden. She was in great pain, and I would go visit her, she said, well, tell me, how can I pray for you?
Pam:And I would say, you know, miss Jeannie, I just I just can't do that. I want to pray for you. And she said, darling. That's why she always said, darling, I can't do anything now but pray, and this is my job to pray. So don't you ever hesitate to tell me what you need me to pray for you because I want to do that.
Pam:So she's, she's a big mentor of me, and I remember making that statement to a friend of mine that you and I know, Joanne Schugert. And I was telling her about my friend, Jenny, and and Joanne gave the best description, I think, of miss Jenny. She said, well, that's an example of a of a person who has abided in Jesus her whole life. And I said, you're you're right. Miss Jenny did abide in Jesus, and I like that.
Pam:Another person that was influential in my life was at that church, that same church, and, it was Jim Searcy. He was the, senior pastor, and, he was the best senior pastor that a young associate woman could have ever, ever had. He never considered me his associate. You know, there's some senior pastors who do, but he considered me his equal always. And he taught me so much as a young ordained clergy person.
Pam:And he would always tell me, you are a pastor of this church. You're not just an associate. You are one of the pastors. So he was always lifting me up and putting me forward and, a huge support. I had been at that church for maybe two weeks, and he took off and left for two weeks to go to a Stephen Ministry training.
Pam:As soon as I got there, almost, he left. And, sure enough, we had a death in the church. I'd never done a funeral. I didn't even take a class in seminary that taught me how to do a funeral. So thankfully, was a great sight.
Pam:But the the day of the, visitation, he called me, and he told me, you know, this is what I do. You know? Told me when to get to the funeral home, where to go, how to do it, what is helpful, and even when to leave. And then the next day, he called me that morning of the of the graveside service, and he said, now you need to walk in front of the casket, you know, and enter the tent. And when you get in under and I always remember this.
Pam:He said, when you when you get to the tent, now the caretaker there is gonna tell you where the head is, and that is where you want to stand for the service. Well, who would who would know that? I mean, I didn't. I was a brand new minister. Who would know that?
Pam:Maybe other people knew that, but I didn't. And I thought, how considerate, how thoughtful, how kind. And that's just the kind of person he was. I mean, to not only me, but to to all all of his people. So those are two very significant people in my past.
T. J.:Those are very pivotal people and, you know, a good relationship. Let's talk about the relationship that you have with Jesus Christ. How has that given you purpose?
Pam:So as I think about Jesus, and I think about the life of Jesus, one of Jesus' teaching that comes to mind, which I try to make it my mantra, is that Matthew 2five 40 and the story that surrounds that verse, whatever you do for the least of these, you've done it to me. And so I've tried to make that as my as my life statement, and I'm not very good at it. You know? I'm on most days, I'm not good at it. But I do kinda think of that as my life verse.
Pam:And I think when when I focus on that as my life verse, whatever's going on in my life or around the world, that gives me purpose. I remember early in the pandemic, I was stressed. Yeah. I was I was stressed. We were trapped here at home.
Pam:Caroline was a graduating high school senior, and nothing was normal. She missed so many things, and I think I grieved that more than she did. I grieved everything about missing those lasts, and so it was a hard time last March and April. And I remember I got a text or a Facebook message saying we need volunteers to cook meals for the women in the shelter, that churches would have been caring for through room in the inn. And I thought, well, I can cook.
Pam:I can cook all day, but I didn't have the money to pay for it. So I remember I talked to some folks at our church, and and so they threw money at me like nobody's business. And so you know, with David and Caroline's help, because I knew I couldn't do it by myself, but with with the three of us working together, we fed, you know, twenty five, thirty people, a nice a nice meal. And that kind of gave me purpose. You know?
Pam:That kind of gave me purpose in the middle of a pandemic when things were going south. And so I was able to do that several times. Last year, provided meals for the women's shelter. And to me, it just gave me purpose beyond just survival here in my home in the middle of a pandemic. And so, you know, I try to do that, but I fail at it miserably every day.
Pam:But that that saying, that teaching of Jesus is is what I live my life by or I try to halfway.
T. J.:Yeah. It drives you. Gives you purpose.
Pam:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. On my good days.
T. J.:Pam, what would you share with an individual who's not really kind of a faith oriented person? What is it about the Christian faith that just keeps you draw keeps drawing you back to God again and again?
Pam:I would say, and it, you know, this is not a it's not a good answer for for a non believer who doesn't know the language, I guess. But the thing that keeps drawing me back is one, the faith community, the beloved community, the body of Christ. Do I see that lived out perfectly or consistently?
T. J.:No.
Pam:No. No. No. Because I'm a failure at it, and so are we all. But it's that sense of community that keeps calling me back or that hoped for community of the beloved community.
Pam:When I see glimpses of it, it sustains me through the times when I don't see it. Because when I catch a glimpse of it, it's so overwhelming that it that it lingers with me. And I don't see it that often. I wish I saw it more. And part of the reason is it's part of me.
Pam:I don't I don't help create that beloved community like I should, but I know it's possible because I've seen glimpses of it. So it's that that keeps me coming back, that hope, that vision of that beloved community. And, also, it's grace. You know, that that whole, that that whole issue of God's grace. You know?
Pam:We we we get to enjoy so much. We don't really deserve Well, I don't really deserve it. But but we we get to because God is loving and grace filled. And I want that for everybody.
T. J.:Right. Yeah. Being able to know that I'm broken, and I'm still able to receive grace, forgiveness, acceptance, when in many places in the world that's not the case. You have to be perfect or strive towards perfection.
Pam:Right. Now granted, I don't I don't live that consistently. Okay? That whole understanding of the grace. That's my husband.
Pam:You know, just ask David. You know, he reminds me. And and and he's a big he's he's one of my idols as well because he is so, so grace filled. You know? And he's so positive and so so forward looking.
Pam:And whenever I get in my funk or I get depressed or I get to, you know, whatever it is I do with my anxiety ridden thoughts, he's the one who keeps pulling me out of You know? Don't you remember when? Or why do you always think that way? That's usually what he says. Why do you always think the worst?
T. J.:Well, that's a good way to lead into this next question I want to ask you is, where do you see God working in your life today?
Pam:Well, I served the denomination for eighteen years as director of women's ministry and congregational ministries, And I loved that job. Loved it. I loved the women. I loved the mission aspect of it. I loved the programming aspect of that job.
Pam:I loved loved loved it loved it loved it. And I wasn't looking for a new call because I was fulfilled and I loved that job. Now whether the people out in the church was as appreciative of what I was doing, I don't know. Maybe one or two. But I love that.
Pam:I love that call. But I think God had other ideas. The, PDMT position became available, and I pondered it a lot.
T. J.:Were you at were you at a camp or a VBS when you were doing these pondering?
Pam:No. Maybe a retreat. No. I don't think so. I I do remember we'd gone down to Orlando to go to that evangelism conference.
Pam:Remember that?
T. J.:Yeah. Okay.
Pam:And so it was kind of like a staff retreat. And I remember it was you and Milton and and John. And and I just said, y'all, I need to talk with you about this. Do you remember?
T. J.:Doctor do. That's right. Oh my goodness. You're you're gonna quit. You're gonna quit going to retreats and conferences and and camps because
Pam:Yes. Yes.
T. J.:Yeah. God seems to speak to you during those times.
Pam:Right. That's a word for the DMT for Discipleship Ministry Team. You know, keep doing the retreats and camps. They can be life changing. Well, anyway, I pursued that nudging, you know, about maybe God had given me some skills and gifts that could be used.
Pam:Maybe. In hindsight now, three years later, that gum at all those churches I served as a lay professional and as ordained going through pastoral transitions? Well, yeah, God had been planting seeds all along, you know, during that time or watering seeds. But anyway, I remember in the interview committee, I told the committee that if I could bring anything to this position, I felt like that I could bring stability and consistency. Because I had a proven track record of of, you know, surviving for a while in a position and in transition, you know, times of transition.
Pam:I had some ideas and visions about what might be helpful in this position, but it was a totally new focus for me, completely new. And now, after almost three years of this new call, I'm still learning so much. I'm loving getting to know the pastors, working with the presbyterial committees charged with oversight and care of their clergy and candidates. So it's an exciting time for me in ministry, I think. I told someone recently, that I feel reenergized in it.
Pam:Even though I I was fully engaged, I felt like with women's ministry and missions, I feel like I'm just kind of reenergized now. That's that's kind of where I am. I'm still trying to learn how to let go and let God be in control, how to relax and not fret and worry about things out of my control. But, you know, I'm just trying to hang in there for the ride.
T. J.:Where do you see God working in the world today? So we talked about God working in your life, but where do you see God working in the world today?
Pam:Well, I'll tell you. Remember, I'm that Debbie Downer, you know, Negative Nelly kind of person. Thank goodness I married David, who is the exact opposite. So sometimes it's hard for me to see God working in the world today because of all of the terrible things that happen. A pandemic, racial unrest, poverty, war, evil of all kinds.
Pam:For me, it's just hard to see God in the midst of all that. But and this is what Fred Rogers would say, I think. You know, look for the helpers. I I see God at work in the goodness that comes out of these horrible things. The good people that do help, like Fred Rogers said his mother told him.
Pam:The love that's shown, the kindnesses that are offered by millions of people, by the doctors and the nurses and the scientists that that have worked so hard during this pandemic, the the Lisa Andersons and the Lisa Cooks of the world that help people who don't have homes or food or jobs, the countless women's ministry groups. I saw a Facebook posting last week or this week about a women's ministry group that has continued to serve in specific ministries throughout this pandemic to feed the hungry and support the weak. Countless CP churches and people who have given sacrificially to our united outreach this past year so that ministry can continue. I know this past year or last year when we had the monthly pastors retreats, That's one question I would always ask the pastors. How is the giving in your church?
Pam:How is that going? And every one of them would say, you know, I'm just amazed. It's holding in there. And so I think a lot of times that reflects how we're doing with our giving. And so I kind of see God in that as as, you know, just regular church members continue in their financial responsibilities and support of the local church and OUO.
Pam:And this this is where those acts, those actions, those commitments, that's where I see God at work in the world in big and small ways of ministry, which reflects Matthew 2five 40, I think.
T. J.:Pam, as a woman Christian, as a minister to the word and sacraments, what hopes do you have for the church?
Pam:That we will become that elusive, community, where we will have all things in common, and we will welcome all people. Simple as that, that the beloved community would be realized that God's kingdom and will would come on earth as it is in heaven.
T. J.:I can hear music playing in the background right as you you did you queue that up on purpose?
Pam:Yeah. No. Because Caroline's in virtual school, she's having an online class piano. Piano. So that's the music in the background.
Pam:Sorry, we can't get rid of that.
T. J.:We share space with our families. Yeah, absolutely.
Pam:And our barking dog outside because she put the dog outside so she could have class piano. Crazy life this past year.
T. J.:How can we continue to follow you on your faith journey?
Pam:Well, I don't know. I don't blog. I don't do podcasts. Sorry, TJ. I don't create podcasts.
Pam:You know, I don't even preach on a regular basis. You know? I'm an introvert by nature, so it might be hard to follow my journey. You know? You can call me on the phone.
Pam:You can email me. Pamcumberland dot org. I'm very good about returning my emails. So, you know, maybe that's how I I will say we've, you know, we've worked together this past year, the PDMT members and I, on we've created a new book, a new handbook. It's the third in a series of three that are produced by the PDMT.
Pam:The first one is a book which was created before I became team leader. Milton was instrumental in this one. It's for inquirers, people who are contemplating the ministry, It's an appropriate book to give. The second book was created by Milton and PDMT members before I came on board. It's for committees on the ministry or preparation.
Pam:It's kind of like a how to book, a checklist for them. And then this third book that we've just finished, it's being printed, is for the care of ordained clergy. Clergy care committees for those Presbyterians that have a separate clergy care committee or for a committee on the ministry to utilize. And it's ideas and helps on how to support ordained clergy. So you can follow the word kind of there.
T. J.:Sure. What is the name of that book?
Pam:It's called Handbook for Clergy Care Committees, something like that. You can get it in the bookstore, and it's also listed. You can follow some of what we're doing on our website, cpcmc.org/pdmt. You can find us there on our website. So I write, or or make sure that there's a monthly article in the CP Magazine every month related to some aspect of pastoral development in some way.
Pam:Either I write it or someone else writes it. So you can kind of follow, you know, what I'm doing there if you're interested.
T. J.:Pam, before we close out, if you had to describe to someone who didn't know, could you briefly describe the pastor development ministry team? What that is? Someone who didn't know at all? Its purpose, its vision?
Pam:We actually worked last fall to create a new mission statement. And our mission statement is, I don't know it by heart. I should know it by heart. But it is to sustain, to support, ordained, clergy and those in process, working through the Presbyterial committees, whatever they may be. So we we help in the process of ordination, through our books, through our resources, through our support.
Pam:And then we support ordained clergy. And we do that in a couple of ways with in addition to these resources. We helped facilitate an employee assistance program that presbyterial committees or Presbyteries participate in. That's where minister and his or her family can receive counseling, free of charge. Of course, the Presbytery has covered that cost.
Pam:So so we've done that. We also have a small line item budget that is a clergy crisis fund that we can give financial support to a minister going through a difficult financial crisis or or death or medical illness or things like that. So so we do that kind of work. I kind of, I I usually say we don't work with pastors one on one, but we work through the Presbyterial Committees to work with pastors. But having said that, I do interact with a lot of pastors one on one.
Pam:We also facilitate, oversee the leadership referral services, which I alluded to earlier. When a pastor is looking for a new call or a church is in the transition, we kind of help work through that process. So that's kind of what we do.
T. J.:Yeah. Thank you, Pam. Just for those who didn't know, and we often use acronyms and to describe, you know, big big things, we try to condense it down and make it easy. And sometimes we we miss.
Pam:Right.
T. J.:Miss that. Well, Pam, thank you for sharing your faith journey.
Pam:It's my pleasure. Thanks for asking.
T. J.:And thank you for listening to today's podcast. Grab a friend and travel with us next time down Cumberland Road.
