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