1999-2000
“And He gave… some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up on the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” - Ephesians 4:11b-13
I continue in thankful enjoyment of God’s grace to me in my person, marriage, family, work and community. My sense of calling is still to the pastoral ministry and to the Oswego Reformed Presbyterian Church for the indefinite future. My family and I are entering a season of great change as Nadia begins college this year with Paul and Tanya not far behind. We very much appreciate your prayers and many encouragements.
My vocational calling from God is to serve Him in His church as a Pastor. Like a shepherd with sheep, a Pastor leads his flock by example and word in a place of nourishment and safety. He prays for the sheep, feeds the sheep the word and sacraments, protects them from false teachers who would destroy them with error, warns them against wandering into temptation, rescues them when they get lost and comforts them when they get hurt. In this way, he equips them so that they can serve God in their respective vocations as well. A Pastor’s primary work, then, is to devote himself to learn, do and teach the word of God as revealed in the Scriptures so that he and those who hear him will be saved through faithfulness to the Chief Shepherd, the LORD Jesus Christ (see Ezra 7:10; 1Tm.4:12-16).
My basic schedule remains the same: Lord’s Day: work in worship, spiritual rest; MONDAY: home work; TUESDAY: Bible study preparations (language, commentaries), general administration; WEDNESDAY: Bible Study preparation (commentaries, write outline) and teaching; THURSDAY: sermon reading, general reading and general administration; FRIDAY: sermon reading and writing, general administration; SATURDAY: finish all. I usually begin each workday with an extended time of worship, which I consider absolutely essential to the life and work of a Pastor-Teacher. I have had uneven success with regular physical exercise. I appreciate your continued prayers for health, strength, courage and faithfulness.
I am thankful for my fellow-workers of the Session, Deacon and Deaconess Boards, Sabbath School Teachers, Church Secretary, nursery workers, the various Work Groups beginning to form and function and the many individuals who simply do the work that needs to be done in the congregation. No one can do everything, but everyone must do something. Though Work Groups are not the first or only means of service, I encourage you to find one that suits you and participate in it. Current Work Groups (and Chairmen) include Christian Education (John O’Brien), Evangelism (Andy Curran), Facilities (John Caroccio) and Fellowship & Service (Patty MacLean). See me if you need more information on these Work Groups. The Session actively oversees these Work Groups.
I am very much looking forward to our getting settled in a place of our own and I fervently hope that this will happen soon. As you see from the September-October calendar, we plan to take the month of September for this, postponing the beginning of most of our regular activities to October. We will probably use the 20th Anniversary Celebration, which includes our Fall Seminar, as an Open House and as a beginning to our regular schedule. Please plan to participate in the work parties that will be scheduled during September to prepare our new home and to move into it.
I am praying that the Lord will use me to bring someone to faith and baptism before the end of this year. This is simply a concrete request for His glory and for our encouragement in the privileged duty of evangelism. Please pray for me in this, and for yourselves in evangelism. Karen and I are enjoying the monthly studies with our neighbors and we are encouraged in our prayers for God’s saving favor toward them. Kevin and Mary Plummer are pursuing a similar opportunity with their immediate neighbors. Peter Howe and Andy Curran have taught Bible studies with their colleagues and others are doing similar things. Read, study and pray for opportunities to live and speak the simple message of the Gospel with your family, friends, coworkers and other neighbors so that God would be glorified in their salvation. A good goal is to pray and work to invite at least one person each week to come to church with you. Making a call on Saturday night to invite or remind people of your invitation can be helpful. Invitation business cards are available on the information table and you can think of other tools. I am praying that the Lord will open a door for the Gospel in the neighborhoods of our new location and at Oswego State. We placed flyers in the new student packets at Oswego State again this fall. The Volunteer Clergy Chaplains opportunity closed with Pastor John Love’s move from Oswego though this may be revived in some way. I plan to continue to administrate the Lord’s Supper monthly and hope that we can be encouraged by baptisms on many of the intervening weeks.
Prayer is a growing element of my personal life and pastoral ministry. This itself is an answer to prayer and I am praying for much more growth in this. Please discipline yourselves to pray daily, alone and with your family, and to prepare for and participate in our times of corporate prayer. Weekly evening worship is our primary opportunity to pray together. Be diligent to prepare for and participate in this. Various midweek prayer times and monthly midweek prayer meetings are further opportunities. Get together with others of similar concerns and pray. Are your needs many because your prayers are few? See James 4:2b. I plan to continue brief meditations on the Psalms in evening worship. I hope that an earlier time for morning worship will encourage greater participation in evening worship in the coming year.
Last year, after a thorough introduction to apocalyptic literature and to The Book of Revelation, we considered the first ten chapters in the weekly teaching and preaching, taking about a half chapter each week. We considered the subject of making disciples (i.e., The Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20) this summer that complemented the series on being a disciple last summer. Our immediate schedule will have to adapt to the circumstances of our facility until we are settled. And so, I am considering a series on particular elements of discipleship (i.e., disciplines) until the Bible study begins in October. My preparations for this series and for the Revitalization Workshop should complement each other and help me make the most efficient use of my time and energy. We will then continue through Revelation at a half chapter per week. This will take us through May. I am thinking about Genesis, The Ten Commandments-Sermon on the Mount and A Harmony of the Gospels for future teaching and preaching. Please remember that your requests for teaching and preaching are always welcome. I will do what I can to honor them. The recent sermon on “modesty” is an example of this.
I am disappointed that many in the congregation do not take advantage of the weekly Bible studies. I know that you have weighty employment and family obligations, but it seems to me that every head of household must take advantage of this teaching so that they can walk and lead their family in God’s truth and righteousness. A commitment of two hours each week seems not too much for this priority. If there is a prohibitive deficiency in my teaching, please tell me so that I may respond accordingly. I am commissioned to teach and cannot do otherwise, but my work, your opportunity and your money are being wasted to a considerable extent. I think the Bible study could be very useful to Pastors, Elders, teachers and heads of households in other congregations in our area, but I don’t know how to invite them without creating a conflict in their own work. Please respond to me on the things in this paragraph.
I did not teach a Sabbath School class last year as classes had to be held before worship and I needed to keep my focus on the preaching. I look forward to resuming a sermon discussion class in our new facility and may add other instruction to this. Instruction and mutual encouragement in evangelism as well as discussion of readings (e.g., in Calvin’s Institutes; on contemporary issues; etc.) are things I have in mind.
The Theological Foundations for Youth program comes up again this summer. It is scheduled for July so that New York students can participate. Please see the old brochures in the literature rack, as the program will be very similar to the one described there. I will get the new information out as soon as I receive it. If you are in high school and interested in participating, please tell me soon so I can help you reserve a spot. We hosted participants in this program in 1999 and found it demanding but profitable. I hope we can host a few students again. Opportunities to host pastoral interns are coming soon as well. Daniel Howe graduates in two years and Cliff Blair in three. It would be great if we could host either or both of these men in an internship. I wish we could rehabilitate the little house on City Line Road for this purpose, but it seems doubtful as we recently discovered that it is not connected to the sewer. Any ideas?!
I continue to serve our Session as Moderator, working as contact person, scheduling our business and presiding at our meetings. I participate in Presbytery meetings twice each year plus meetings for ordinations and other special events. I completed various assignments for Presbytery during the past year, but am under no broad obligations at present. The work of our Walton Commission was finally concluded. I had the honor of serving the 1999 Synod as moderator. Thank you for your gift to the Seminary on that occasion. Please pray for the Lord’s blessing on my “Retiring Moderator’s Address” (119 E. Third St.?!) to the 2001 Synod on July 14. There was no synod meeting this year due to the International Conference. I continue to serve on the Seminary Board and its Student Services committee. I preached at the International Conference a few weeks ago and am scheduled to participate in the leadership of the first Revitalization Workshop in October. Your prayers were appreciated for the conference and are requested for the workshop.
I enjoy the local Pastor’s Prayer Group on Thursday mornings though I cannot participate every week. Reformed Presbyterian Pastors in the Syracuse area are meeting quarterly for mutual encouragement in preaching, prayer, praise and provisions (i.e., lunch!). We had our first meeting in June and it was a good start. The preachers are scheduled oldest to youngest, so I’ll be preaching soon!
Evangelism was the theme of our Spring Seminar in April with Pastors Ken Smith and Brian Coombs teaching. Public Testimony is the theme of our Fall Seminar, October 6-8, with Pastor Harold Harrington teaching. I plan to arrange for a seminar with a guest speaker each fall and spring as a seasonable(!) complement to my own regular teaching and preaching.
I counsel individuals, couples and families as they request or as their needs require. Marital counseling continues to be the most regular and most pressing need. Sometimes, this includes evangelistic opportunities. I participate with the other Elders in this care of the congregation and often request their assistance. I often ask the Deacons for their help as well. With my fellow Elders, I continue to desire and pursue a schedule of regular visitation in your homes. Our own employment obligations, family duties and other labors as Elders make this extremely difficult. Please pray that God will bless us with success in routine visitation during the coming year.
In my connection with the vocal music program at Oswego High School, I developed a Psalm Tune Scholarship Award. You can see the details of this on our web site at
Thank you for your continued affection and encouragement. Please share your thoughts with me about this report, my life, my pastoral ministry and our congregation. Please pray for me as I also pray for you.
Respectfully submitted,
Kit Swartz, Pastor-Teacher
[P-r-e-s-b....How Do You Spell That?!] [What is a Pastor?] [Personal History]
[History of the Congregation] [Regular Schedule] [Psalms and Voices]
[A Place of Our Own] [RP and Other Links][Sermon Outlines]
[Bible Study Outlines] [A Bible Study in YOUR Home?]
[Psalm Tune Scholarship Award] [Annual Reports]