It’s not about me — it’s all about we
By Pastor Kara
Have you heard? There’s a new campus pastor at Carthage, and it’s me…Kara Baylor.
If you happen to live in Kenosha and receive the newspaper, you can’t help but know because my installation service was front-page news on September 29. And, again on Friday, you could find me in the Faith section of the newspaper. Yikes!!
It was all pretty overwhelming. I don’t have a problem with attention — Ask my brothers; I’m the youngest and have to admit I was the spoiled child — but it did feel like a bit much, especially when a member of the YMCA asked why he had to see me in the paper so much. Oh, my … too much me.
But then I was blessed to have a few conversations that helped me see that it wasn’t about me at all; it is about the “we” of Carthage, the “we” of the community of faith, the “we” of the community of Kenosha and Racine, and more. A faculty member reminded me that my installation wasn’t about me, but about celebrating the Lutheran roots of Carthage and claiming our Lutheran identity through the process of calling a new campus pastor.
A local pastor made me think about how all of this press gave the community of faith in our area a chance to reflect. Conversations about faith and being interfaith were happening because of these articles. People are talking about the faith community, sharing ideas, and seeing the church in a new, more open way. And a member of the community opened my eyes to see how important it was to have someone in this call who happily would bridge the worlds of Racine and Kenosha at Carthage. All of these reminders are about WE, and none of them is about me. Thank God.
On October 7, Casey Sugden ’12 preached in chapel, and his text was from the Gospel of John. We were reminded to love another and to abide in that love. We don’t just abide in the love of God in Christ for the sake of ourselves, but for the sake of others and the world.
Casey, a seminary graduate from Luther Seminary on his internship at St. Luke’s in Greendale, Wisconsin, called on us to use our gifts in service to others. Faculty members grade papers for the sake of the students’ growth in learning, and staff members lend an ear to help students discern their lives’ paths and to create a caring environment. Both actions are all about what WE do together. Carthage exists because some Lutherans thought it was a good idea to give a good education to young people for the sake of making a difference in the world. The same is true today,because it is about a lot more than me — it’s about WE!
In Christ,
Pastor Kara
The Carthaginian is a magazine for Carthage alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends of the College. It is published three times a year by the Carthage Office of Communications. Read the Carthaginian online at www.carthage.edu/carthaginian.