Traveling Thoughts

Email: "Hi Kate, hope you are doing well! We are starting up our second season of Upward Soccer and we have lots of children already registered. We are looking for more coaches and one of the teens said she would be an assistant coach if she could coach with you. What do you say? Will you be a soccer coach this year?" A soccer coach, are you kidding me? I only played soccer one day in my life during a pick up game at a summer camp. My soccer career promptly ended 15 minutes after it began when a ball got kicked into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me as I fell to the ground. How am I supposed to coach a game I’ve never played? Also, I’m just starting to get used to working with children with the new position of Pastor of Children and Youth, my niche is working with teenagers! It was the beginning of 2016 and I was given the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone in serving. Believing the best leaders are servant leaders that led by example and understan...

Words carry unbelievable power. Words have the unique ability to help, to bring joy, to encourage, to destroy, to cause pain, to shame, or to humble. Our words matter. This not only applies to the words we speak to others, but what we say to ourselves. I strongly believe that we can be our own worst critic and say things to ourselves that we would NEVER dream to say (or think about) to other people.   Knowing my tendency to listen to my inner critic and leaning into the idea of living a purposeful and meaningful life, ( check out the first part of the blog here ) I decided at the end of 2013 to select a POSITIVE word to live into in the coming year. That started a chain reaction of going year to year over the last 5 years as a way live a meaningful story and a practice I plan to continue.  My inspiration in sharing these past words and the word for 2019, comes from a graphic artist friend, Adam Cassidy . Adam created a logo for the Kettering  Before...

This month, I am celebrating ten years of serving in the local church. Ten years ago, I was so excited about the opportunity I was given to be working with students! That call only continued to grow focusing in the areas of discipleship, service with justice and compassion, and leadership.  However, my focus has always been divided. While serving at  Christ United Methodist Church  for 7 years, I was able to double as a full time undergraduate and graduate student. While at  Faith Community UMC , I explored a calling to serving as a senior pastor . While at Peace UMC, the focus was wide serving alongside people working with birth through 12 th  grade.  Peace United Methodist Church will forever be part of my story. There have been some amazing things that have happened in the life of the church and its ministries. So much has happened in the past two years, yet it seems like the time has gone so quickly. Another part of my story that definit...

My name is Kate Smith...and I'm a foodie and I need your help. Not to stop - but I need your expertise of the West Chester area so be sure to check out the questions in the last paragraph. According to one of the most credible sources on the interwebs, Wikipedia, a foodie can  be defined as someone who seeks new food experiences as a hobby rather than simply eating out of convenience or hunger. I think my identity as a foodie stems from a rule that we had on family vacations: eat locally. This meant skipping national chains and opting for "mom and pop" hole in the walls, greasy spoons, and establishments that were unique to that area.  This guideline for harmonious travel has translated into my everyday life, my mentality when I travel or visit new places, and even ministry. Considering myself an adventurous type, I always like to explore what makes each place I live or visit unique. I actually get really excited finding stores, restaurants, and things to do tha...