The months of May and June 2022 were two of the most difficult months of my life. On May 29th, 2022, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Hillsdale had its final service after 171 years of service through multiple generations. I had been their lay pastor, pouring everything into that church for the final 11 years and 4 months. Trying to keep it going. But in the end, it closed anyways. The closure was such an enormous weight on my shoulders. In those dark days of grief and discouragement I felt I would never have enough strength to get in the pulpit ever again. It is just too hard.

Yet somehow I had agreed to speak at three churches over one day only four weeks later on June 26, 2022. What on earth have I gotten myself into? I was a total mess. It all came about a few weeks before the Hillsdale closure when I was approached by Reverend Linda Patton-Cowie. She is moderator of what is known as the Uptergrove Charge, which consists of three rural churches, Willis in Jarratt, Esson in Rugby and Knox Uptergrove in Uptergrove. She was enquiring if I were able to speak at these three churches on Sundays when the pulpit was vacant. Reverend Patton-Cowie also happens to be one of the most caring, compassionate human beings I have ever encountered. She genuinely cared for me and what I was going through. I didn’t actually say “yes” to Reverend Patton-Cowie. But it also wasn’t a no. If this was what God wanted, I didn’t want to say no to God. So I said I would try. Reverend Patton-Cowie gave me a list of eight Sundays during the remainder of 2022 to choose from. I said to put me down for all eight Sundays, but please allow me to walk away if I am not able to do it. That 1st day of the list was June 26, 2022.

Frankly, I honestly didn’t know if I could do it. I’m an introvert, and speaking each Sunday at one church is challenging enough. Preaching a sermon as an introvert creates a quiet battle few people ever see. I may look confident outwardly, but the inner strain is very real. After a one hour service, I am drained and exhausted. But three churches, speaking in front of congregations I did not know seemed impossible. On my own, it would be impossible. But God would help me. Verses like Isaiah 41:13 really gave me strength, “For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.

That was over four years ago. Unlike the Hillsdale church, where I was speaking somewhere between 48 and 50 Sundays a year, I speak on average 32 Sundays a year. But with three church congregations. Every Sunday enroute to the 1st church I do feel overwhelmed. Sometimes I will vocalize it to my wife Lynne. Sometimes not. I continue to claim God promise, “Do not fear, I will help you”. God always provides His presence and support during my times of fear and uncertainty. My 32 Sundays a year is roughly 3 Sundays a month. We also have a 4 week summer break during July and August. I am writing this during summer break. A great opportunity to unwind and reflect on my life. And maybe get some running, hiking and cycling in. Though this year I am still recovering from injury.

It is amazing how much I’ve used my experiences of running long distance ultras to have enough endurance to speak at three different churches on a Sunday. When running ultras, you don’t want to start sprinting from the start. Otherwise, there will be nothing in the tank for the end of the race. The biggest challenge for me is maintaining and sustaining energy for all three services. My wife and I leave home around 8:10, we arrive at the first church at Willis at 8:30 am and hit the ground running with the first service beginning at 8:45 am. The second service at Esson is at 10:00 am and the third at Uptergrove is at 11:30 am. There is travelling between each service. By the time the 11:30-12:30 service is over I have been going hard—preaching, talking to people after and pouring myself out. It can be a tiring day. A great day, but a long one. I’m worn out and need time alone to rejuvenate. This can impact my family time if I’m not careful. Sometimes in my exhaustion I will say something and the words regretfully come out wrong.

Once I get past those pre-race (or pre-sermon) jitters, I get running on adrenaline once in the pulpit in my first service. My many hours in preparing for that race (or that sermon) is paying off. In the Presbyterian Church we have a lectionary of chosen scriptures for a given Sunday. I really try hard to stick with the lectionary. Sometimes it forces me to speak on passages that I wrestle with.  After 3 years (called Year A, Year B, and Year C) we should have a pretty good grounding of the Bible. Part of my preparation is to hand write out all my notes and have them with me on the pulpit. Particularly as an introvert, I need my notes. I don’t necessarily read from them word for word. But they are my safety net for when I am tongue tied.

The people at the second service shouldn’t get any less energy and commitment than the people in the first service. And the people attending the third service deserve the best I can give them as well. In order to ensure that I am bringing my best to every sermon, I have developed practices and systems that help keep me somewhat more energized throughout the day. Sleep can be hit and miss. Though I really try and get 7 hours of sleep the night before. Often I’ll fall short. It is hard to get a good nights sleep before a race the night before a race. It is also hard to get a good nights sleep before my 3 service ultra. But I try. In the end I really have to trust in my preparation, and not fret.

My pre-sermon nutrition has gotten to be very similar to my pre-race nutrition. It is fuel for what is ahead. Some carbs, a bit of protein. But not too much. Too much food will make me sleepy. Not enough food, I won’t have energy. Then one cup of coffee. Enough to energize me. But not too much to make me jittery. Another thing I found that keeps me energized is drinking plain water while speaking. Just like running a race, if I become dehydrated I will lose energy. Every few minutes during the service you will find me having a sip of water to make sure I’m well hydrated and my throat is not dry.

The first church I speak at is Willis Presbyterian Church. The church was built is 1865 and it is located at 3353 Line 10 North, Oro-Medonte, ON. Service time is 8:45 AM. and goes to 9:45 AM. Though if you attend the services you’ll notice I’m always ending around 9:40. There is a reason for that. With drinking all that water, I have to go pee. There are few things worse than when you’re about to get up to preach and you have to pee like crazy. So before the next church this is all taken care of. Because there is a very short window to get to the next church. In my previous job, if someone quit work 5 minutes early without reason they would be written up. If it happened three times they would be fired. It has been four years of me ending the first service 5 minutes early. Yet I haven’t been written up yet by the church board. In fact I haven’t even been warned. It is total opposite. My wife and I both feel loved to pieces. Nothing lifts the spirit in the emotional spiral of post-sermon fatigue like a warm, honest, genuine, specific comment from a church member about how the sermon was helpful to them. I will actually get this kind of response from each church.

Time is ticking. It is hard breaking away from all these uplifting words of encouragement and friendly conversation. But my wife and I need to get to the next church. But before we leave we grab some snacks and coffee set aside for their after service fellowship time. The dear people always make sure Lynne and I are first in line. The “grab and go” reminds me so much of the aid stations in the ultra races. As Lynne is driving to the next church, I am scarfing down the food. It gives me the fuel I need to keep going. I’ll drink about a third of the coffee from my grab and go, and save the rest for during the drive to the third church.

We always seem to arrive at the 2nd church often a few minutes late. Yet in all these four years we’ve never been warned by the church board about our tardiness. We’ve never been written up. In fact we feel so welcome. The church is called Esson Presbyterian Church and is located at 1430 Old Barrie Road, Oro-Medonte, ON. Service time is at 10 AM, though I am usually a few minutes late. The original church was built in 1865. In 1915, a new Esson church was built. Which is the church location for our second service. Because this church is closest to my original stomping grounds growing up in Edgar, there are some people attending there I have known my entire life. Once through the door I go straight up to the pulpit to begin. Lynne goes straight to the organ to play it for the service. With that “aid station stop” from the 1st church, I’m able with God’s strength to get a second wind and have the same energy for the middle service. The service ends at 11 AM.

From there Lynne and I head off to our third and final church, Knox Presbyterian Church, Uptergrove. The drive is a bit further, but we also have 30 minutes between services. During that time I will drink the rest of my coffee and eat a protein bar that I have brought from home. Just what is required for energy levels for the third service. The church is located at 5202 Highway 12, Ramara, ON. Their website is found here. Also kindly administered by one of the elders is their Facebook page found here. The service is from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Of the three churches, Knox Uptergrove’s history goes back the furthest. It was established in 1856, and they celebrated their 170th anniversary just a few weeks ago. Although there has been modifications, it is still the original church building. Depending on traffic, Lynne and I will arrive 5 to 10 minutes early. Enough time for a quick washroom break. Lynne plays the piano at this church also and here she has a bit of time to play a bit to help those attending get settled before the service. As in all three churches, this church congregation is so warm, caring and welcoming. Once the benediction is over, I feel like I’ve crossed the finish line of a long distance race. Because there is not another church to run out the door for, after the third church it is a bit more relaxed in visiting with the congregation members. My wife knows me very well, and often the first words she will say to me once we get in the car is, “Well you did it”. But not just me, giving glory to God who gave the promise, “Do not fear, I will help you”. He gave me what I needed when I needed it. Once I arrived home I would crash.

Not only preaching at three different churches on a Sunday, but living the Christian life is like running a race. The Bible speaks many times of running metaphorically, particularly in the New Testament to illustrate perseverance and spiritual discipline. The book of Hebrews also uses the metaphor of running, urging believers to persevere in their faith with endurance. Hebrews 12:1-2 states, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Whether it is running ultras, preaching at 3 churches on a Sunday, or daily living out your Christian faith, this imagery underscores the need to overcome obstacles and stay focused on the ultimate example of faith, Jesus Christ.

With running long distance races, one of the most bizarre things a runner will do after having his body trashed after running an extremely tough race, is he or she will right away look for another race to run. It is something a non-runner just cannot wrap their mind around. Being a lay pastor at a 3 point charge church congregation takes a lot out of me on a Sunday. But is so rewarding. Non church people are not able to wrap their minds around it. They will ask what I did on the weekend. I’ll explain Saturday was tweaking sermon preparation one last time and Sunday was preaching. Much more rewarding than any secular job I have ever had. This is stuff that is not fleeting and temporal. This is eternal work. It is such a huge responsibility and honour to share from God’s Word each Sunday from these three pulpits, where Godly ministers have stood for over 160 years. It gives me so much joy to see people come to church not out of obligation. But because they want to. May I be faithful to this calling that God has given me.

Disclaimer: All written content is my own original content with no AI assistance. The majority of photos are my own using my 18 year old Fuji Finepix camera. Credit given to those photos that are not mine. No digital editing and definitely nothing AI. Doing what I can in my little corner to not support this technology oligarchy, data centers and environmental destruction.