March 26, 2004
Dear Friends in Supporting Congregations,
There is hardly a day that goes by when I am not grateful for
the students, the opportunity to teach, and the general atmosphere
of “learning” that my ministry has offered me these
last seven years at Lithuania Christian College. Rarely am I thanked,
forthrightly anyway, by students, but just yesterday two students
thanked me for my lecture. Now if I were willing to be more reflective,
I’d go back and examine the lecture and see what I did differently
and try to note that for future reference. However, I’m
much too busy and a bit cowardly for that kind of self-examination.
I choose to believe (and I do think it is true) that my lesson
on Paul and the Corinthian correspondence was at least sparked
up if not totally upstaged by my reading chapter 13 aloud twice
through (once from NRSV and once as it appears in The Message
by Eugene Peterson). The first time I decided they were just being
polite (50 in a lecture hall setting), but after a small bit of
Greek background on agape, I had a rapt audience for
the second time through. Those words did more than just get read,
I’m convinced! And as I walked out, “Great lecture,
Jane!” caught me totally off-guard. I think she meant, “Incredible
words, Paul!” and she might have even meant, “…and
the truth has just knocked me up side the head?!”
Why do I begin this epistle to you this way? I write because
this is my last semester at Lithuanian Christian College for a
while, and moments like these make me a bit teary. I shall be
taking a leave of absence from the classroom and Klaipeda, from
my position as mission co-worker and from full-time mission service
with the PC(USA). The new “call” being realized, even
as I write, is to a doctoral thesis on “Berlin Fellowship—Eastern
Perspective” and to half-time pastoral ministry in a Reformed
congregation in the Berlin area. How all of this came about and
what it will become are things I’d like to share with you
in person when I come to the United States this June to September
on interpretation assignment. I’ll be “itinerating”
for a much shorter period in several parts of the country, and
if your congregation has interest and a calendar opening in the
weeks I’m in your region, I’ll do my best to make
a rendezvous work!
As in the past, I’m doing this on a first response basis.
Those who write back to me first with suggested dates will be
scheduled first. I should like to have all visited churches share
the total cost of transportation inside the United States, which
I am guessing will come out to about $150 per congregation. It
may even be less. As in the past, I neither expect nor can receive
other remuneration. As in the past, I’ll preach, teach,
speak, and hope to bring a mini-presentation of some sort. My
apologies—I know I am very late in contacting you, but the
Berlin connection is just now falling into place, and I wanted
to wait on confirmation from that corner.
My tentative schedule
- June 1 - June 30: New Jersey base, east coast
(maybe southern states), continuing education at Princeton maybe.
- July 1 - July 30: Colorado base (Rocky Mountain
and Great Plains states), vacation in between congregation
visits.
- August 1 - 20: Louisville or Lexington, Kentucky, base, Sharing
Conference and regional visits.
- August 20 - September 20: California (Orange
County base, northern California maybe).
- September 21 - October 1: Colorado (dentist/doctor’s
appointments, etc.)
- October 1: Return to Berlin
Could you please get back to me as soon as possible with your
wishes (including first- and second-choice dates), thoughts, or
input? I am trusting God will fill in the blanks and settle any
conflicts in advance!
Know how much I would enjoy seeing you and your congregations,
how grateful I am for your faithful support, prayers, and love
during the last three and a half years since I was last on interpretation
assignment. Know that I hope for a way for us to meet, even if
only for tea or a chat.
I look forward to hearing from you. I shall hope to have a final
schedule put together by April 25 and will be in touch with you
once again in May.
Grace and Peace,
Jane Holslag
PCUSA Mission Co-Worker
Klaipeda, Lithuania
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.338
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