GIVE YOUR PASTOR A POUNDING… By Vicki Marsh I
n many churches, it has long been a tradition to give the pastor and his family a pounding on special occasions such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or when a new pastor comes to your church. When I first heard this, I had visions of a gauntlet of people from the congregation who would pat the pastor on his back as he walked thru the parallel lines of people. Frankly, I was a bit fearful of how many church members might be overenthusiastic in their “patting” of the pastor. Fortunately, I have a good friend who always knows about things like this so I asked her what a pounding was. As she explained it, members of the congregation would bring a pound of something such as a pound of butter, a pound of bacon, a pound of sugar, etc. This not only made more sense to me but it seemed a more “pain-free” type of pounding that the preacher and his family
would appreciate. At Greenville ARP church, we recently welcomed a new senior pastor to our church. We decided to give him a more modern pounding. For one thing, he and his family were moving to our area from out of
state. In addition, many people have food allergies or are gluten-free or are vegetarians so we felt that a more practical way to pound the pastor would be to give him gift cards to local grocery stores, home improvement stores, restaurants, etc. and he and his family could buy the things that they preferred. Besides, if every family in the congregation gave him a pound of something, there might not be room in the car for his family! Pastors do not always have a 9 to 5 job. They are called out when someone is in the hospital, when there is a death, or when someone just needs a visit, etc. Everyone likes to know that their efforts are appreciated—give your pastor a pounding! In other news, the ARPWM 2022 calendars are here! They feature a church from each presbytery and Bonclarken and are be-
ing sold for only $15! All proceeds from calendar sales will go to Synodical Hall Improvements such as new flooring and kitchen updates. Synodical Hall was built in the sixties and is owned entirely by Women’s Ministries. As a building gets older, there are expenses other than regular maintenance. Calendars are available from Presbyterial presidents or representatives, ARPWM board members, in the Bonclarken Gift Shop, or me (
vmarsh1414@aol.com). They would be great gifts for your friends, missionaries, or others. Thank you for buying a calendar to help us keep Synodical Hall in good shape!?
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