Hello! My Name Is...

January 15, 2014

I must admit that I am generally not a big fan of name tags.  I prefer the anonymity of large gatherings of people.  I also prefer introducing myself to strangers.  It just seems more personal.  That said, there is much to be said for name tags.  It's an ice-breaker between strangers.  It gives another person permission to greet me by name.  It's an invitation to get to know each other.

Today's post is about this very thing: getting to know each other.  Many of you have already reached out to me through messages and email, introducing yourselves and offering reasons why you are following my digital musings.  All of these are greatly appreciated.  Some of you have connected with me because we are already connected - as family, long-time friends, friends of friends or as colleagues.  Some of you have a different kind of kinship with me in that we share the same illness.  Still others of you feel an affinity with me because I am a writer or pastor.  Whatever the reason, I welcome you to this new community and look forward to getting to know you much better.  It is also my hope that you will get to know each other in this electronic fellowship by making comments in the "Comments Section" of this blog.  You can share in each other's thoughts and reactions.

Stephen A. Rhodes

Even though this blog has been going for a few weeks now, I thought it was time to introduce myself to you - to tell you a little bit more about who I am.

I was born and raised in Kingsport, Tennessee, which is in the upper east corner of the state.  My parents were Jim and Charlotte (Hale) Rhodes.  Dad was from Scott County, Virginia; and Mom was from the nearby county of Wise.  I have one brother, Ken.

When I graduated from Dobyns Bennett High School, I attended Emory & Henry College, which is near Abingdon, Virginia.  I was a religion major, but I actually took more courses in political science.  Both were and still are areas of major interest to me.

After graduating from E & H in 1983, I attended the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.  I was a Woodruff Scholar at Candler and focused on theology, biblical studies and ethics.

I married Lynn Rasor in the summer of 1986.  She was the daughter of one of my college professors.  Lynn is a special education teacher, focusing on learning disabilities.  Together, we have five wonderful and inspiring children: Cora, Hannah, Sarah, Gabbie and Abraham.  They bring us much joy.

Our family (Summer, 2013)

I was ordained as a deacon in The United Methodist Church in 1985, and as an elder in 1988.  I am currently a clergy member of The Virginia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.  Since coming to Virginia in 1986, I have served four appointments: 1) first in the Charlottesville area; 2) Virginia Beach; 3) Northern Virginia; and 4) Richmond, where I presently make my home.

I came to Richmond with my family in 1999 to serve as the senior pastor of River Road United Methodist Church.  I had five wonderful years with that congregation.  But while I was serving there, I became ill with a serious and mysterious illness.  Later diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, this illness has been a part of my life since onset in November, 2001.  In 2004, I became so ill that I had to take a medical leave from active ministry.

There is much more to tell, but I will stop here.  Feel free to ask me questions.  I'll do my best to answer.

If you would like to know even more about me, then I encourage you to check out my website: www.stephenarhodes.com.  More specifically, check out my "Biography" and "Vita" pages.

By the way, I intend to devote a future post just to what it means for me to live with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  Hopefully that will help those of you who have not heard of this disease to understand it better; and for those of you with this illness too, I hope my experience with this illness will speak to your own.

Cheers,

Steve

P.S.  Remember that the contest for the free Kindle giveaway is ongoing through January 31st.  If you have friends, family or colleagues whom you think might enjoy receiving this blog by email, then feel free to forward this posting on to them.  To be eligible for the free Kindle, a person must visit my blog website - http://stephenarhodes.blogspot.com/ - and subscribe to it through the "Follow By Email" option.  Also, you will receive a confirmation email from Feedburner which requests that you confirm you want this subscription.  If you do not confirm, you will not be subscribed, so please do so.