Welcome to Cicely

As I've imagined my first appointment as a full-time pastor, I've fancied living in Cicely: preaching at the village church on Sunday mornings, meeting people during the week at Ruth-Anne's store, grabbing breakfast at The Brick, driving into the country to see parishioners or take in the peace of woods and waters.

Fiction has become reality: I've been appointed to Cicely!

You might remember Cicely, Alaska, as the home of Northern Exposure, the warmly quirky television show of the 1990s that is one of my all-time favorites. In real life, I have just been appointed to serve the United Methodist Churches of Anson, Holcombe and Jim Falls. The three parishes lie roughly along the Chippewa River as it meanders southward through Chippewa County -- past two state parks, county forest, farmland and small towns. Not far south are the cities of Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire.

The congregations love their current pastor, and she loves them. She will leave for a new appointment on July 1, when I will come into their communities as an outsider. I respect their grieving, the difficult task of letting go and facing uncertainty.

I don't know who I'll meet there: the town doctor who moved there from the big city, the widow who owns the corner store, the orphaned American Indian whom the village raised, the master chef who lives in a log cabin, maybe even the philosphical ex-felon who lives the intellectual life and rides a Harley.

They will be real people with real stories. Someday, with God's blessing, we will share our stories. For now, mine is to honor theirs. Meantime, I'll be at The Brick, cup of coffee in hand, grateful to be in their midst.

Photo: Northern Exposure's "Cicely, Alaska" (actually Roslyn, Wash.). Photo by Sue Frause, Seattle Travel Examiner.