After 4 long years of classes, Jason completed his last requirements for his SMP program in January. What a glorious occasion! Even though Jason was officially ordained as a pastor two years ago, his coursework extended another two years. He has been a VERY busy man over these four years-- writing multiple papers, reading lots of books and articles, and attending weekly online classes. He was so relieved and thrilled to finally be done!
To help Jason celebrate, one of Jason's co-workers and I coordinated a small reception for him at church. His spiritual formation team provided snacks and decorations. Everything looked so festive!
I made Chex Mix and a few of Jason's favorite desserts. I also ordered a frosted big cookie.
Jason's team organized these cute centerpieces that displayed some of his favorite Bible passages.
When people walked into the fellowship hall, this table contained notecards for people to use to write an encouraging message to Jason.
I sent out an email to the school and church staff, inviting them to come celebrate with us. We asked people not to bring gifts but instead, if they so desired, to write a poem or song to share that day. Since Jason has always loved creating random raps, songs, and poems, we figured this would be right up his alley! There wasn't a large group of people who shared, but the ones who did were quite entertaining! There was a perfect mixture of written poems, a song with a guitar, and even a creative rap by our main worship leader.
Even the kids and I sang an encouraging song called "Daddy We Are Proud of You" that I had written to the tune of "Jesus Loves Me." I was proud of how well the kids sang with me, even in front of the crowd! At the end of the program, Jason spoke a few words of thanks.
We were honored by the presence and care of all the people who came out to support Jason. It was a fun gathering! That weekend, we hosted our family for a dinner to celebrate Jason even more. Each family group had also composed a song or poem to perform for Jason. These songs were a little longer, so the videos are too large to share, and unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the family. But, it was a wonderful evening with more creative musical messages for Jason.
We feel blessed by this wonderful group of family and friends to share in our joy!
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