Pastor Susan's Letter
Changes!!!
When I was in my senior year of high school, the song “Changes” by David Bowie became our senior class graduation theme. I remember some of the seniors put together a slideshow of pictures from our journey together through high school and mixed in pictures of events in our country that occurred during that time. The year was 1975 (yes, I am that old) and there was a lot going on in our lives and around us.
I’ve always liked that song because it is about journeys. Bowie wrote the lyrics about his own journey of experimenting with different styles of music and how he re-invented himself to be more honest about who he felt he wanted to be. He tells us that in the midst of that journey, one day he “turned myself to face me” – and that reminds me of the prodigal son who “came to himself” in the midst of his misery and faced a hard truth.
As a 17-year old girl that phrase really resonated with me. I, too, was on a journey and facing myself with the question, “what do I want to do with my life” while I anticipated leaving home and going off to college. Bowie concludes his song with this phrase, “time may change me, but you can’t trace time”. How true that seems to me these days.
It’s been a long time since I was 17 with my whole life ahead of me. Now, I’ve lived that life and for the most part, it has been a happy one. But not today – not as I realize that time and the loss it has brought me has changed me. That’s the thing that happens when you lose someone you love – someone who is a vital part of your life. It’s not just the loss of that person (although, truth be told, it has been devastating) – it’s also the loss of who you were when they were with you.
I’ve lost “my Doug” and I will never be the same again. So, now I find myself back to that quest I faced when I was a 17-year old girl. Who do I want to be? What do I want to do with the rest of my life now that I have to live it without him? I know I want to continue to be a minister and I want to do that here at St. Vincent and I am grateful that the church has elected to keep me here by making my salary full time. I know I have to move my family out of the parsonage where Doug and I lived together for the past 19 years but was totally unprepared to find a new home. And I am grateful that the church has helped that to become a reality for my family.
And I feel that God is urging me to explore new ways to minister to my church family that might help our church to grow – if not in great numbers, at least in great spirit. Like David Bowie and his music, I want to explore new ways to make our worship and music experience more meaningful, more uplifting, more inspiring. That might mean some changes – but hopefully they’ll be good for us.
So, here is the challenge for all of us – talk to me - tell me what you like about worship. Tell me what you’d like to try that we are not doing already. Tell me what changes you’d like to see at St. Vincent. We can love it just as it is – but sometimes we have to “turn and face ourselves” and make some changes that are for our own good. I don’t know now what those changes will be any more than I knew what they would be when I was 17 – but I know this for sure – God is in the midst of it all and God will lead us to what he wants us to become as his heart and hands and voices on this earth – so that through us, he can bring heaven’s ways to this earth. Join me in the journey and let us make God’s hopes and dreams for us come true.
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, during 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 appreciate 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.
She also completed her certification as a Reiki Master in 2013—the same year she came to our church, St. Vincent United Church of Christ. Additionally, she has participated in specialized training through the United Church of Christ to serve as an intentional interim minister, assisting churches during transitions from one settled pastor to the next.
In her early thirty-year career as an ordained minister, it became her calling to support churches during these transitional times, taking her to twelve different settings in local churches and 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 loves working with them in ministry settings.
That love is what brought her to St. Vincent United Church of Christ—her “lucky number 13” setting, as she likes to call it. When she arrived, it was to serve as a temporary supply pastor during our transition. However, we liked each other so much that we decided to continue 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 role, as she sees it, is to help all of us be the heart, hands, and voice of Jesus in our own time and place, to do good, make a positive difference, and leave the world a better place for 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 lives in Chester Springs. She has three grown children—daughter Laurabeth and son Eric live in the local area, while their daughter Lindsay and her husband Charlie reside in Alabama, where they are raising two grandchildren of whom Pastor Susan will be happy to show you pictures and share how wonderful they are—just like any proud grandparent.
Come, join us at St. Vincent United Church of Christ and meet our pastor. If you are looking for a worship experience that makes you feel good for having been here, then come and connect with us. We worship together every Sunday to share the spirit, the light, and the love of Jesus, creating a little heaven on earth and empowering us to take that love back out into the world we live in, where our ministry truly matters.