What are you going to do ?

March 26, 2025

Good afternoon,

So what are you going to do ? This is the question for me everyday since I announced I would not accept another term of service as pastor here at Poole. It is not only from Poole people, but from friends and family and strangers. Some say that one ‘ should do nothing for six months ‘, while others say ‘ do what you love ‘ and some people say, ‘ it will be revealed to you in a good time ‘. These were sort of the responses I received after recovering from my heart attack in 2007. Well, we are going on a five week trip, two weeks to Europe and then on to Amman, Jordan to visit Hannah and Alaa. We return to Elmira in early May. As a good Type B personality, I am only delaying my decision. Ha ha. Thanks for the question.

The cartoon character ” Pinky ” asks his friend ” Brain ” what are we going to do today ? ” Brain ” responds by saying, ” The same thing we do every night Pinky. Try to take over the world “. Oh, I wish I had such high aspirations. My dad just tried to make it to another day. I guess I am somewhere in-between. I do not have a bucket list of things I need to do. I am not a good planner, but I do want to go to Winnipeg more in the future. I want to get back to my cross-stitch work. I want to advocate more for more justice for all people in the world. I want to get closer to God through prayer and silence. These are not new things, but are old things done in a new time of my life. 

The Philosopher says in Ecclesiastes :

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

        a time to be born and a time to die,
      a time to plant and a time to uproot,
       a time to kill and a time to heal,
      a time to tear down and a time to build,
       a time to weep and a time to laugh,
     a time to mourn and a time to dance,
     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
     a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
     a time to search and a time to give up,
     a time to keep and a time to throw away,
      a time to tear and a time to mend,
     a time to be silent and a time to speak,
      a time to love and a time to hate,
     a time for war and a time for peace.        Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Pray for the peace of Gaza in the twinkling of an eye. AMEN

Fred Redekop