e-mail: firstchristian0095@bellsouth.net
Jan. 2010
If You Call Me "Bill"
Hello. My name is Dann Masden. I am sitting in your minister's office. The very same office in which you saw Brother Bill every Sunday and on those times when you needed pastoral care or just a good ear and shoulder. It is odd for both of us for me to be here. Though I have heard of Owenton through the years, I confess I know very little about your community. In spite of the fact that your congregation is one of Kentucky's strongest Disciple churches, I have heard no gossip about you. So I come to this office with expectancy and joy. I look forward to getting to know each of you better and to work with you while the Search Committee completes its task of discerning whom God will call to sit here on a more permanent basis. Until that time.......
You and I are beginning a new ministry. We will learn each other's name. And if you slip and call me "Brother Bill" rather than "Dann" I won't be offended. In fact I will be complimented since you are associating me with your pastor; someone who gave you love and support for ten years. Now if you call me "Kevin" or "Rusty" or heaven forbid - "Proctor" -- I will worry a little more about what that may mean - for both of us!
To help you get to know me, I am retired from a ministry in Paducah, Kentucky at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). I began my ministry at the age of 20 outside of Nicholasville at the Bethany Christian Church. I have two married daughters, Deanna and Mandye. Deanna earned her M.B.A. at UK and now lives in the Houston-Galveston area of Texas. She works in marketing and communications. One of her more interesting accounts is the Space Coalition working with NASA. She and her husband are the parents of our 4 month old grandson Mason. My other daughter is pastoring the Burgin Christian Church in Mercer County. They have two children Ben who just turned 8 and Callie who is 5-1/2. Mandye began her ministry in the same small congregation outside of Nicholasville as I did. Bethany survived two Masdens and is still functioning.
My wife Debbie is from the large metropolitan area of Paint Lick, Kentucky. Her parents still live there on the Madison County side of the creek. Debbie is a high school mathematics teacher at Boyle County High School. I have served churches in Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky. I have been trained in Interim Ministry and have served the Harrodsburg and Shelbyville churches most recently. I grew up just south of Louisville in the small town of Shepherdsville. As a youth I was influenced by a group of academics in the big city. They drew me in to their community which many people in this area consider to be a controversial influence. So I confess to you that they did leave their mark on my life. You see I am a University of Louisville graduate. But I did later see the light and I enrolled at Lexington Theological Seminary. I think through the support of my wife and daughter both UK graduates, I have been able to adjust. I do still cheer for UofL over UK. Other than that I am relatively normal.
I look forward to meeting you. I anticipate a great time together brief though it may be. Join me in keeping our church and our Search Committee in our prayers.
In Christ's Ministry Together, Dann Masden
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