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February 22, 2005 Dearest Friends, In many ways, the year 2004 was a year of pilgrimage for me. I traveled to the land of my ancestors and found a piece of my soul. I traveled the difficult journey of my mother, moving into the role of a parent as she moved to that of a child. I found myself in the exciting land of book publishing, going from no book contracts to two within 6 months. It has been quite a trip. Also across the year I have been exploring my calling, sensing a new movement of God in my life and trying to hear what God was whispering in the wind. There are still many things that I do not know, but one piece of it is now in place, and that is why I am writing. On June 30, 2005, I will be leaving St. John's. My destination may be another local church in our Conference or it may be a different sort of ministry altogether. The situation is not firm yet, although there are more concrete details than I can share with you at this point. I am not just floating off into the ether. I share this with you now, before the particular circumstances are set, so that we can have more time to share and to work everything through. Please be assured that I do still love St. John's. This was not an easy decision to make. I have felt for some time, however, that I have brought St. John's as far as my particular set of gifts and skills can go. There has been no replacement named yet, but God is preparing the heart and mind of just the right person to lead St. John's to an even higher level of joy and faithfulness. Your PSPR committee has been hard at work developing a profile that the Cabinet will use to select a new pastor. God doesn't call one away without sending another who can do the job. Pastors moving is one of the mixed blessings of the United Methodist Church, and I am moving at this time for exactly the reason that the system was created. No single person has all the gifts. No one is good at everything. Over time, a church becomes good at things in which the pastor has strengths and not so good in the others. A new pastor, with a different set of gifts and strengths helps to maintain the balance so that a church eventually becomes strong in all areas. There is a danger in bringing this news to you so early in the year. The danger is that you might shut down, putting everything on hold until a new pastor comes on board. I want to encourage you to engage with the church, now more than ever. It is my prayer that when one of my colleagues steps into the pulpit at St. John's, the congregation will be as alive as it ever has been. I pray that the empty volunteer slots we now have will be filled, and that we will have moved through as much of the separation process as possible so that there is enough energy to greet a new pastor with joy and hope. We will have time in the coming months to talk, to process, to grieve, to laugh. I will give you more details about my situation as I am able. In the meantime, the hour has come to pray. Pray for me in my new direction. Pray for St. John's as we make this transition. Pray for the Bishop and Cabinet as they seek God's leading for a new pastor. Pray for a pastor whose name we don't yet know who will be sent to lead this church on the next part of the journey.
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