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 Well I turned 55 this week! February 3rd to be exact. And I can honestly say that it has been the best birthday ever! This can be attributed in part to Facebook. I had so many friends wishing me a happy birthday that I was almost overwhelmed, by the sheer number of people who took the time to drop me a line. Mind you I have two Facebook pages. I have a “personal” (Sista Pastah) one where I come to hang out and play -to be myself (to a certain extent), and I also have a “professional” (Pastor Ingram)one, for folks in my congregation and colleagues in ministry, or people with whom I am not that well acquainted. So, I was doubly visited on the date of my birth.
I am grateful because I am 55! No cute jokes about “just turning 39″, or “25″. I am 55 and so proud and grateful to be this age. It was a little over 17 years ago when I was diagnosed with the HIV virus, and have been praying to God for 5 year increments of life: “Oh, God, just give me 5 more years to watch my daughter graduate from high school”, “God just give me 5 more years to complete my seminary training”, “God give me 5 more years to watch my son graduate from high school – and my other daughter from college”. 5 year increments of life, which has been granted to me. Yes, I am grateful. Grateful to be 55. I don’t believe God is actually answering my prayers in that way “giving me 5 years“…but I do believe that my belief in God and faith in Jesus Christ, has given me the strength to overcome the many obstacles which have come my way. Drug and Alcohol =overcome. Sexual Abuse=overcome. Secrecy and stigma=overcome. My life hasn’t been easy, but it has been worthwhile: in hindsight! Lol. Didn’t seem worthwhile during the process…but I believe God has been preparing me for this time in my life with the experiences I have been through.
Ministry is creeping along. This is my third year in the congregation, and they have come up with a vision plan for the next “5″ years! Lol. So, I am encouraged, that things will turn around. We are not doing well financially, our membership is down and our giving is down. But thanks be to God, we are a community of believers with heart. We are God’s people who know a little something about the “struggle”. But we also know about “faith”, and the “faith of our ancestors”. And so, we continue walking along on this journey, side by side, trudging behind, running ahead…always to the goal. We may not all get there at the same time. But we will get there. They have faithfully entered into a “plan for ministry”. And this year is going to be exciting for us.
On the morning of my birthdate, I got a call from my mom (in New York), wishing me a happy day. After her call, I got up and got in my car, and drove to New York to see her. (only a two hour ride)…she was sooo surprised to see me, and it was good to visit with her, and my baby brother…then I had to get back on the road in time to make our church council meeting.
I am not a “movie- goer”, so to speak. Some people go to the movies regularly. I am lucky if I get to go to the movies twice a year. But I had to see Avatar. And I LOVED it! Loved it so much, I have been to see it three times, and the minute the name is mentioned, I begin going into a dreamy state. Folks in my congregation know this…and so, last week at the council meeting (on my birthday-while I was on vacation, no less), they opened the meeting with this cake! I was done! The cake says: “Happy Birthday Pastor Ingram.” It was a great day!
A message from our Bishop:
January 13, 2010
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
The first chaotic reports and images now are coming out of Haiti, documenting the devastation caused by yesterday’s massive earthquake. Haitian officials estimate that more than a hundred thousand people may have died and that the quake destroyed major parts of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America already is responding through the Lutheran World Federation’s Haiti Program. Given the devastation caused by this earthquake, the ELCA has committed an initial $250,000 from ELCA International Disaster Response for Haiti and has authorized an additional $500,000 as congregations respond both to the immediate needs and long-term rebuilding efforts.
We give thanks to God that LWF staff escaped injury from the earthquake. We also give thanks that we have trusted and effective partners on the ground in Haiti who already are at work helping earthquake survivors. The ELCA is the largest regular supporter of the LWF’s program in Haiti, which helps communities escape the deep poverty in which so many Haitians live. Since staff is already in place, no precious time will be lost in shaping an effective response. The work of providing food and shelter and in helping people to rebuild their lives is under way.
We give thanks also for our partners in this work. The LWF staff in Haiti also was tapped to coordinate the responses of Protestant and Orthodox churches throughout the world through Action by Churches Together (ACT). In addition, the ELCA, in coordination with the Florida-Bahamas Synod, will be working to provide disaster support to and possibly through the emerging Lutheran church in Haiti.
More details of the ELCA’s response and a disaster insert for congregational use are posted on www.elca.org/disaster as communication channels are restored. Please share with members and friends both the urgent need in one of the United States’ closest neighbors and the effective means by which their church is responding. Please go to http://www.elca.org/haitiearthquake or call 800-638-3522 to give toward our response to the disaster in Haiti.
In God’s grace,
Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
We had our third Blue Christmas Service at St. Michael’s! Our third. Blue Christmas or Longest Night Services are primarily for those who are sad during this time of the year. Not everyone is a happy camper during the holidays. These sad feelings usually begin with Thanksgiving and stretch throughout New Years Day.
I am betting that Ebenezer Scrooge, could’ve benefitted from a Blue Christmas/Longest Night Service!
I suffer from depression (which is controlled with medication), but the holiday season is not the best time of the year for me either. I have to work hard during the holiday season, being a pastor and all…being cheerful, and at the same time, being truthful to myself and being a bit emotional during this time. Blue Christmas is for me, as well as those who come to sit and speak to the sadness in their lives.
This year, I am acutely aware of how much I miss my daddy. And I know that some of you know that I was abused by my dad, and by no means am I excusing what he did…he was a sick person. There really is no excuse. But I miss my daddy. The sober daddy…the daddy who taught me things like “the pen is mightier than the sword”…the daddy who taught me about “racial relations”…the daddy who used to sit out on the stoop with his bottle of “Rheingold” in a paper bag…the daddy who saw me in the throes of my addiction…the daddy who cried on his deathbed while I was out in the street – cried because I wasn’t around for him to apologize to.
And here it is 22 years later…daddy’s little girl has been sober for 21 years, has three beautiful children (2 grown)…daddy’s little girl is a pastor with a congregation of her own…not perfect, but able to identify with pain and loss.
I thought the grief was done…but it is just as fresh as it was when I found out he was gone…
“tonight, I light a candle for my daddy…and for daughters who are victims of sexual abuse, and for the relationship that should’ve been, but wasn’t”
Today is World AIDS Day, and I am still here. But many of my brothers and sisters are not. Am I thankful? Yes and No. Thankful that I am here another year, in relatively good health (still undetectable) and able to lead a somewhat productive life. But I am not thankful because there are so many others who are not afforded the same “comforts” I have: the monthly doctor visits, the blood work, the resources…and most important of all: the right to speak out freely without fear of being thrown out of my community.
The members of my congregation embrace me fully, and I am thankful for that….
But there is so much more work that needs to be done…and we need to start raising our voices as we did, when this virus was just coming out. There were protests all over the place, ALL the time. Now, I think because medications are enabling folks to live longer, and this disease is seen as one that can be managed, people are kinda complacent. And that is sad. Because it still is a killer. And contrary to belief, in spite of all the education that is out there, people are still being diagnosed!!!
I am hoping that you have gotten tested, that you are receiving treatment if needed….and that you practice safe sex…
Info:
http://www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/hivaids/world-aids-day/
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