Soon enough, the church had offered Lowe the job of minister. He took it, but was a little nervous that his wife, Gloria, might not be thrilled about moving to the then-rural spot known as Stafford. But there were some very nice, kind folks who made both of us very welcome, he said, noting that several church members even cleaned the parsonage before their arrival, right down to washing every window in it. The minister noted that much has changed for his flock since those early days, when many of his parishioners were farmers and the congregation itself was a tight, close-knit, family group. Today, we tend to have more people that come and go, and the needs of our members are so different, he said.
Families are under more pressure, and have lives that are so busy.
It's more of a challenge to keep up with. Making that challenge somewhat easier is the fact that Lowe is now seeing the second generation from many families, working with young people who have gone off for education and come back to settle in Stafford. The toughest moment he can remember came when he counseled a young man who'd gotten in trouble and was so distraught that he spoke of suicide. At those moments, you use all the training you have, but you go with what you feel in your heart is the right thing to say, he said. Though Lowe said he thought the session went well, he worried later about it.