What is happening in my life lately?
Well, a lot.
On Tuesday, May 19, my wife Chris and I attended the annual retirement banquet for pastors at the Riderwood Village in Silver Spring.
Here's a picture my wife took of me with the bishop, two guides, and my district superintendent. I am being congratulated upon my retirement from the active ministry. It looks like my eyes are shut and I don't know why!
My wife Chris will continue to look for work in her field as a Medical Receptionist.
We will move from Manchester, MD., to Hanover, PA., on Tuesday, June 16th. We are putting most of our things in storage and taking only what we need for summer living with us to the temporary apartment.
So the next few weeks will be busy as we pack for our move!
On July 1, I will retire from the active ministry after 36 years of honorable full time service.
Only, there's another chapter opening in my ministry career.
On July 1, I will begin to serve, in retirement, part time, two small rural country churches in rural northern Baltimore County, an easy drive from our new home in Hanover, PA.
Here's church number one, which has a 9 AM Sunday service:
Protocols, you know.
This old church was built in 1814, before my time, before any of us, for sure!
I am assured that no charter members are living.
Just think, this lovely rural church has been standing here, in the open farm country, for 195 years!
Wow, that's a long time.
And, it's the original building, built to last.
What a legacy of service and witness it has had all these years!
An officer of this church says don't drink too many fluids before coming to this church.
You see, there is no modern bathroom.
Well, there is a "privy," and that's okay with me, if I need it.
Now here's church number two, built years later, in 1871 (what were they waiting for?).
It has a 10:30 AM Sunday service:
Look at the beautiful red azaleas blooming out front.
The sanctuary inside is quite beautiful with unique features.
There's a large parking lot at both churches.
This one, number two, has a large building attached to it in back for Sunday School, meetings, and a Pastor's Study.
And did I tell you, this one has a working, modern bathroom, in fact it has three of them.
I thought you might be wondering about that.
I am glad that these two churches have become available to serve, part time.
I am honored to take them under my pastoral wing, which can still flap a bit.
It will be a privilege to serve these two fine churches in "retirement."
We don't know know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future.
Rev. Darryl C. Zoller, who is about to retire ... kinda, sorta, maybe.
Here's a photo our builder took of the two of us on the lot we reserved just yesterday for your new home which will be built this summer in the borough of Hanover, PA.
It's on the new Blossom Drive in the development called The Cottages at Cherry Tree. These are "quad" townhomes. We will have the end of quad home on the right hand side. So there will be extra space between us and the next quad to our right. We will have a gas range and gas heat, but an electric air conditioning system. The builder's policy is to upgrade one notch from typical home standards, for instance, extra insulation, thicker walls, etc. Our home will be all on one level, no basement, but we will have an ample attic over the double garage.
The completion date of our new home is October 20. So for this summer and early fall, we will be renting a one-bedroom apartment somewhere near our new home, as it is built. We will take pictures of the construction as it is done.
We're 58 years old and never owned a home. For 35 years we've lived in church-owned parsonages. So we are really on an adventure!
My brother and I went to Opening Day of the new baseball season.
The Orioles played their arch rival, the New York Yankees.
We beat the Yankees real good.
Before the game started, the players and coaches were introduced.
They were each announced to the fans and ran out on a special orange runway.
Here's a picture I took of one of them.
My dear wife, Chris, told me the other day, "You must take pictures of our azaleas in bloom."
I went out a couple of days ago and took these photos.
You know what? I am glad that I did. They really are colorful and beautiful to behold.
They are on the west end of our brick rancher.
This man, named Steve, spoke at our Mother's Day dinner at Bixlers Church last evening.
Steve has grandchildren who hold up objects for him to see. He then has to tell them, "My eyes don't work."
Steve went blind as an adult from a incurable condition called retinitis pigmentosis.
Everyone present listened attentively to Steve's story, which is more than his blindness. It is a story of faith in the midst of a serious challenge to one of his five senses.
He and his wife drew from their deep well of faith in Christ, who strengthens us, and He got them through some very tough times.
Even those who see often have eyes that sometimes "don't work" so well.
We miss the many blessings God is putting before us, even in the midst of adversity.
Do your eyes work?
Then thank God, who made them!
Here are some more photos from our visit to the Union Mills Homestead. First, the grist mill in operation:
Next a bridge over the mill race:
I hope you get a chance to see it someday.
We want to go back and see it again.
Last Saturday we visited Union Mills Homestead in Union Mills, Carroll County, Maryland. One of the historic buildings is a Blacksmith Shop.
A blacksmith was there, working on a piece of metal, heating it till it glowed, then pounding it on the anvil, then dipping it in the water to cool and harden it.
He repeated the process until he had what he wanted. Here's one of the photos I took of him at work:
He also used a huge bellows to fan the fire with air, so it would glow brightly with the added oxygen.
Last, here is a picture I took of the Blacksmith Shop itself.
Here's a watercolor of the Homestead.
The mill was built in 1797. The labor on the mill cost $86.00.
I was fascinated by this place.
There is a blacksmith's shop, a manor house, a tannery, bark shed, miller's house, and open fields.
On the side of one building is a unique sun dial, which I hope to show you soon, but I'm waiting for it to stop raining long enough to get a clear picture!
The mill gets its water supply from a mill race drawn from the Big Pipe Creek.
The Homestead is located on Littlestown Pike, north of Westminster, in historic Union Mills.
Old mills are picturesque. I will have to collect photos of several of them. Maybe I could make a 2010 calendar of them?
What subjects do you like for your picture taking?
My wife Chris and I visited the Union Mills Homestead in Union Mills, Carroll County,
Maryland, last Saturday. While there we saw many of the old historic buildings,
including the old grist mill, which still operates.
I took some photographs and I liked this one, above, best. It reminded me of the old
ballad, "Down by the Old Mill Stream." This picture takes one inside the song, as you
imagine what the original setting may have been like.
"Down by the Old Mill Stream"
Words and Music by Tell Taylor
Chicago: Tell Taylor, c1910
"My darling I am dreaming of the days gone by,
When you and I were sweethearts beneath the summer sky;
Your hair has turned to silver the gold has faded too;
But still I will remember, where I first met you.
"The old mill wheel is silent and has fallen down,
The old oak tree has withered and lies there on the ground;
While you and I are sweethearts the same as days of yore;
Although we've been together, forty years and more."
Chorus:
"Down by the old mill stream where I first met you,
With your eyes of blue, dressed in gingham too,
It was there I knew that you loved me true,
You were sixteen, my village queen, by the old mill stream."
I didn't meet my bride down by an old mill stream. We met in the college biology
laboratory. Our class was dissecting fetal pigs. Was it romance or was it
formaldehyde? I'll never tell. Heh heh.
She wasn't wearing a gingham dress either. I think she had on a short sleeve shirt
and a pair of culottes.
Her hair wasn't gold and it hasn't turned to silver yet. Her hair is black, thick,
with only a few strands of silver hair appearing now, thirty five years after we
exchanged marital vows in the "days of yore."
I still feel romantic around her!
