Happy 62nd birthday Barbara!

I don't think she'll be too upset over my sharing her birthday today, 9/21, as I'm also sharing a bit about Barbara that she probably would not share on her own.

1. In a few weeks she starts as pastor for 2 smaller churches, one a Presbyterian church and the other a smaller United Church of Christ. With the smaller churches it is often common to "yoke" them so they can hire a qualified minister.

If you are familiar with Wisconsin 1 church is in Westfield; the other in Grand Marsh. These are central Wisconsin communities located north of Madison.

2. Barb is a Presbyterian lay pastor. Her training is not as rigorous as that of a full-fledged pastor but she has taken courses through a seminary (on-line classes) and participates in other educational programs with peers. She serves as the local representative to the Presbyterian church's retirement program (the Presbytery, which is a regional group) and this past summer she was a delegate to the Presbyterian church's General Assembly, a big honor. So she is well-known and well respected by her peers.

3. She continues to hand-craft jewelry, work with me to photograph it, and get it uploaded to Etsy. On September 20th we hit our goal to have 100 pieces in our store and, while we wish we had some sales, we feel those sales will start soon as we are getting good views on some of them. She will be focusing on some holiday pieces and they will be listed soon along with some Welsh (Celtic) pieces. This all now because she acquired all the inventory needed to make these specialty items.

So I want to wish her a happy 62nd and congratulate her on her new position as pastor (3/4 time) and increasing success in her Etsy shop.

Ken Merwin