Pastor’s Letter
SOPS …
That stands for Save Our Postal Service! I don’t know if you have heard – but our postal system is in danger of closing up shop. That’s right – the postmaster general says that they will be out of money by the end of this year – mainly due to the lack of usage by everyday folks like you and me. To no longer have your friendly mail carrier to deliver your mail would be a real shame I think. I like going to my local post office – I know the people who work there by name. I chat with my mailman, Steve, whenever I happen to see him delivering mail to our house. They make me feel like my mail is important to them. And I like knowing that the postal service connects every single person across this nation to every other single person when we reach out through our cards and letters and packages with one another.
But that might all change very soon. And we helped make that happen. With the advent of email to send messages to others and competition for package deliveries from privately owned companies like UPS, FedEx, and Amazon – people are just not using the post office as much as we used to. But we really ought to – what better way to receive and send your mail than by interacting with a real live local person.
So, I am promoting this campaign – help me Save Our Postal Service! How can you help? Send cards to people just for the thrill of it. I know greeting cards are expensive these days. And so are stamps – but just think of the good feelings you are making happen for someone when they open a card for no reason at all except to say “I’m thinking of you”. If you want to put a smile on someone’s face, send them a card.
You don’t have to buy a card – you can make your own. I do it all the time. I’d even be happy to have a “card making event” here at church so you can make some with me to send to people. If a card isn’t quite your style – try writing a brief letter on paper. And if you want to write a long letter, you can fit up to three 8 ½ X 11” pieces of paper in one envelope for the cost of one stamp. So, write a long letter or enclose a poem or the lyrics of a song you like with a note to that lucky person who will receive your letter.
I send care packages to my grand-kids for whatever reason I can think of. Just a little something that says “Even if I can’t be with you today, you are on my mind and in my heart”. Sending a care package to someone you love can make them happy and make you feel connected to them in a good way.
Yes, I know this costs money to participate – but cards and letters and care packages are good things and that’s what we are called to do – make good things possible for others. And since we are in the Easter Season – what better time than now to send some happy thoughts to a special person. Think of all the positive energy we’ll be sending out into the world. So, please join me in doing what we can to Save Our Postal Service. If each of us sent out just three things every week, the postal service might not have to worry about whether or not they’ll still be around in 2027. And it could all be because of you and me. If we want to change the world for the better, I think this might be a good way to start. Won’t you join me in my campaign to Save Our Postal Service! Love, Pastor Susan
About Our Pastor
This is our pastor, Reverend Susan Hanson,
She was ordained in the United Church of Christ at her home church, St. John's UCC in Lansdale, PA on January 9th, 1994 in the middle of a winter weather event of snow and ice. That storm didn't stop their celebration that day - and she hasn't stopped serving in the ministry since then – no matter what. We like that about her - and you will too when you get to know her.
Pastor Susan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Development from Florida State University; a Master of Divinity degree from Lancaster Theological Seminary; and a Master of Arts
degree in Pastoral Counseling from Moravian Theological Seminary.
And she completed her certification as a Reiki Master in 2013 – the same year she came to our church. She's also participated in specialized training through the United Church of Christ to serve as an intentional interim minister to churches while they are in transition from one settled pastor to the next.
Early in her thirty year career as an ordained minister, it became her calling to assist churches during these times of transition, taking her to twelve different settings in local churches, as well as chaplaincy positions in nursing home facilities. She'll tell you that she “has seen it all, heard it all, been through it all” with the people she's met – and even so, she still likes people and loves working with them in ministry settings.
That love is what brought her here to St. Vincent UCC – her “lucky number 13” setting as she likes to call it. When she arrived, it was to serve as a temporary supply pastor while we were in transition. But, we liked each other so much, we decided to just stay together on a permanent basis. In April, 2018, Rev. Hanson was installed as our settled pastor.
Our pastor believes that ministry is something we all do when we strive to be like Jesus and follow his ways. Her job, as she sees it, is to help all of us be the heart and hands and voice of Jesus in our own time and place and in our own way – so that we will do good; make a positive difference; and leave the world a better place for us having been here. She says, “That's the way real ministry happens – one gracious thought, one good word, one act of kindness - one moment at a time”.
Susan and her husband, Doug, who is also an ordained pastor at St. Peter's Pikeland UCC, live in Chester Springs. They have three grown children – their daughter Laurabeth and son Eric live in the local area. Their daughter Lindsay and her husband Charlie live in Alabama where they're raising the two grandchildren of whom Pastor Susan will be happy to show you pictures and tell you how wonderful they are – just like any other proud grandparent.
Come, join us – and meet our pastor. If you are looking for a worship experience which makes you feel good for having been here – then, come and meet us. We worship together every Sunday to share the spirit, the light, and the love of Jesus and become empowered to take it with us when we go back out into the world in which we live and for whom our ministry really matters.