Pastor Tom Fish
I've been asked to write a brief autobiographical sketch about myself. Writing about me is not something I'm particularly good at but in as much as some people do not know who I am, I'll share a few glimpses into my background that you may or may not find interesting.
My wife's name is Janet and we were married in 1983. We've been married for 37 years. We have one daughter Marilyn and she currently works in retail. For those who love crafts she works at Michaels in Wooster and has been there for five years. We just bought a retirement home in North Jackson Township in 2018. Both my wife and daughter live in our new house and I have the honor of living in the church parsonage. It will make it easier for me to help Janet with common chores such as mowing, gutter cleaning and rubbish removal to live only 15 minutes away.
The biggest and most interesting thing I have to report is that Janet and I love to travel. We've been to London, Northern England, Ireland Scotland and Wales. It was a Trafalgar Tour that took us by bus around thru these various countries in a week's time. We didn't get to stay long at any one place, but I have to say, I really liked everything we saw. It was only a few short years ago that we also took a Trafalgar tour of Germany. The Germany tour was more expensive, and the hotels we stayed in were much ritzier than the London tour but I enjoyed both regardless of the accommodations. London and Germany are the extent of my European travels. However, Janet's families (my In-laws) are planning a large trip to India just as soon as the Covid pandemic is under control over there.
As for my North and South American and Canadian Traveling, well let me think....I've been to Mexico City, Taxco (Famous for its silver mines), and Al Capulco. That was a field trip with Kent State University back in 1984. I actually got college credit towards my Spanish requirement for going to Mexico with the Kent State group. Lounging in a pool at Al Capulco and starring at the ship they filmed the Love Boat television series on in the Al Capulco harbor was my all time greatest college experience.
I've visited Hawaii, where I got to visit Pearl Harbor. And on the other end of the United States I've also been to Washington D.C. where I was able to see the Arlington Cemetery, the Vietnam War Memorial, along with a number of other world famous monuments. I've been to a number of places in Canada. Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, on the East and Vancouver on the West.
I have a sister, who lives in Portland Oregon, and 35 years ago, we were visiting her home and she let us borrow one of her cars. I wanted to drive down into northern California and see the giant Sequoia trees. Along the Pacific coast we could see where "clear cutting" had removed entire forests from the mountains. I'd like to go back now and do the same drive over again to see if those forests did come back after replanting.
I could tell you about our travels to Mount Rushmore, Los Angeles, The Grand Canyon, Orlando Florida, Charleston South Carolina, Myrtle Beach, Lexington Kentucky, but all it would do is cause you to ask me never to write again.
But beyond traveling I have to say that I love church. And more importantly I love the Christ who built His church. If you read the New Testament you will walk away believing that Jesus didn't really care much for the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And it was true, they no doubt did get carried away with their insane, almost dictatorship, approach to keeping the law. Jesus saw in them certain inconsistencies, certain hypocrisies and he was critical of the way they ran "the church." But here's what we need to remember also, for centuries it was the Pharisees and the Sadducees who kept the name of Yahweh...(The name of God), alive all those years. They, for all of their flaws and shortcomings and inconsistencies, were still the only people in society that still thought God was important. And yes they kept God in the forefront of people's thinking.
I grew up thinking that Roman Catholics were very similar to the Pharisees. Long on Ceremony and short on substance. And I too, suspected that Jesus, if He were still around, would be just as critical of the Catholics as He was of the Pharisees of Old. And to some extent He may have been right in what He saw as Hypocrisy or inconsistencies. But remember this. It was the Catholics who kept the name of Jesus Christ alive for centuries following Pentecost. It was the Catholics and the Catholics alone who built those Cathedrals all across Europe that inspired me so much. Were there flaws in some of those people? Of course there were. But it was not the local Rotarians or Jaycees or Kiwanis, nor the Ruratans nor the Local Grange nor even the Government who was interested in talking about Redemption, or Salvation, or an old Rugged Cross. I have yet to walk into a Rotary meeting to see a statue of Jesus hanging on a Cross. Did The Roman Catholics abuse their power? Yes they did. Was Martin Luther correct and was Reform needed? Yes he was and the Reformation was important. But for all of the Roman Catholics flaws, shortcomings and hypocrisy and yes even their sins they were the only people in society still willing to keep the name of Jesus alive.
Well, let me conclude all of this by saying that I love traveling. And I love church. Church meant a lot to me growing up as a kid, and I owe a debt of gratitude to the United Methodist Church for supporting me and my family for the past 32 years. Not all of my experiences with the local churches have been particularly easy. I've had some funerals for people who died of substance abuse that were hard both on me and the families. I had to walk with a church that went thru a nasty split several years ago, and I've had my share of detractors and critics. Fortunately, they were not as big as the Holy Spirit who was big enough and strong enough to enable me to press forward. Paul said, "For me to die is gain" And that is pretty much how I feel. The worst the local church can do is to take my physical life, and if they do...I will thank them for all eternity. Do I feel blessed to be assigned to the Chapel of the Cross? More than you will ever know.
One last thing...if you thought reading this was terribly boring, wait till I start bringing my slides to church. You'll love those.
My wife's name is Janet and we were married in 1983. We've been married for 37 years. We have one daughter Marilyn and she currently works in retail. For those who love crafts she works at Michaels in Wooster and has been there for five years. We just bought a retirement home in North Jackson Township in 2018. Both my wife and daughter live in our new house and I have the honor of living in the church parsonage. It will make it easier for me to help Janet with common chores such as mowing, gutter cleaning and rubbish removal to live only 15 minutes away.
The biggest and most interesting thing I have to report is that Janet and I love to travel. We've been to London, Northern England, Ireland Scotland and Wales. It was a Trafalgar Tour that took us by bus around thru these various countries in a week's time. We didn't get to stay long at any one place, but I have to say, I really liked everything we saw. It was only a few short years ago that we also took a Trafalgar tour of Germany. The Germany tour was more expensive, and the hotels we stayed in were much ritzier than the London tour but I enjoyed both regardless of the accommodations. London and Germany are the extent of my European travels. However, Janet's families (my In-laws) are planning a large trip to India just as soon as the Covid pandemic is under control over there.
As for my North and South American and Canadian Traveling, well let me think....I've been to Mexico City, Taxco (Famous for its silver mines), and Al Capulco. That was a field trip with Kent State University back in 1984. I actually got college credit towards my Spanish requirement for going to Mexico with the Kent State group. Lounging in a pool at Al Capulco and starring at the ship they filmed the Love Boat television series on in the Al Capulco harbor was my all time greatest college experience.
I've visited Hawaii, where I got to visit Pearl Harbor. And on the other end of the United States I've also been to Washington D.C. where I was able to see the Arlington Cemetery, the Vietnam War Memorial, along with a number of other world famous monuments. I've been to a number of places in Canada. Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, on the East and Vancouver on the West.
I have a sister, who lives in Portland Oregon, and 35 years ago, we were visiting her home and she let us borrow one of her cars. I wanted to drive down into northern California and see the giant Sequoia trees. Along the Pacific coast we could see where "clear cutting" had removed entire forests from the mountains. I'd like to go back now and do the same drive over again to see if those forests did come back after replanting.
I could tell you about our travels to Mount Rushmore, Los Angeles, The Grand Canyon, Orlando Florida, Charleston South Carolina, Myrtle Beach, Lexington Kentucky, but all it would do is cause you to ask me never to write again.
But beyond traveling I have to say that I love church. And more importantly I love the Christ who built His church. If you read the New Testament you will walk away believing that Jesus didn't really care much for the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And it was true, they no doubt did get carried away with their insane, almost dictatorship, approach to keeping the law. Jesus saw in them certain inconsistencies, certain hypocrisies and he was critical of the way they ran "the church." But here's what we need to remember also, for centuries it was the Pharisees and the Sadducees who kept the name of Yahweh...(The name of God), alive all those years. They, for all of their flaws and shortcomings and inconsistencies, were still the only people in society that still thought God was important. And yes they kept God in the forefront of people's thinking.
I grew up thinking that Roman Catholics were very similar to the Pharisees. Long on Ceremony and short on substance. And I too, suspected that Jesus, if He were still around, would be just as critical of the Catholics as He was of the Pharisees of Old. And to some extent He may have been right in what He saw as Hypocrisy or inconsistencies. But remember this. It was the Catholics who kept the name of Jesus Christ alive for centuries following Pentecost. It was the Catholics and the Catholics alone who built those Cathedrals all across Europe that inspired me so much. Were there flaws in some of those people? Of course there were. But it was not the local Rotarians or Jaycees or Kiwanis, nor the Ruratans nor the Local Grange nor even the Government who was interested in talking about Redemption, or Salvation, or an old Rugged Cross. I have yet to walk into a Rotary meeting to see a statue of Jesus hanging on a Cross. Did The Roman Catholics abuse their power? Yes they did. Was Martin Luther correct and was Reform needed? Yes he was and the Reformation was important. But for all of the Roman Catholics flaws, shortcomings and hypocrisy and yes even their sins they were the only people in society still willing to keep the name of Jesus alive.
Well, let me conclude all of this by saying that I love traveling. And I love church. Church meant a lot to me growing up as a kid, and I owe a debt of gratitude to the United Methodist Church for supporting me and my family for the past 32 years. Not all of my experiences with the local churches have been particularly easy. I've had some funerals for people who died of substance abuse that were hard both on me and the families. I had to walk with a church that went thru a nasty split several years ago, and I've had my share of detractors and critics. Fortunately, they were not as big as the Holy Spirit who was big enough and strong enough to enable me to press forward. Paul said, "For me to die is gain" And that is pretty much how I feel. The worst the local church can do is to take my physical life, and if they do...I will thank them for all eternity. Do I feel blessed to be assigned to the Chapel of the Cross? More than you will ever know.
One last thing...if you thought reading this was terribly boring, wait till I start bringing my slides to church. You'll love those.
