Goodbye

Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12.24 NRSV

It’s hard enough to say good-bye, but then to follow that very quickly with a warm and genuine welcome can be challenging! Landlords know that; hospital and nursing home staffs know that; and congregations facing changes in pastors know that.

But as the Apostle John remembers Jesus teaching, the cycles of life apply to us all. Not only do we need to face our actual deaths, but during each lifetime we face myriad small and large deaths in jobs, in residences, in programs and in relationships. Jesus’ use of the grain of wheat is instructive. The dying of the seed in the earth is not simply the passing of one item into oblivion, but rather a process that engenders the birth and development of something new. Not only is the process natural, but it is holy! God loves the bringing of new life and hope to all settings!

So thank you for treating me so well as we finished our interim work together and for sending me off well. I felt very sad about leaving you. I don’t mean to be overly dramatic, but it was a bit of a death for me, and I hope that you can acknowledge a bit of that too. I have delighted in being one of your pastors for the past fifteen months, and I know that Libby was glad to worship with you and get to know some of you. Thank you for your gracious hospitality to us during this “in between” time.

Now we’ve left you, and are moving on with our lives. It is for us both a death and a resurrection. I will keep your pastors informed about my next assignments so that they can let you know through this newsletter what’s happened to us. We will appreciate your thoughts and prayers of concern and support during this week, and want you to be able to celebrate our next steps in life as well.

But during this week you can and should switch your attention to the reconfiguration of your staff team with Pastor John’s arrival. Welcome him well! Let him know how glad you are to add his ministry to the wonderful work of your staff team and lay leaders. Together you will accomplish great things in ministry together. Greet his family, and join them to the wonderful community that makes up Gethsemane.

I hope and pray for you to have a long and rich life together in mission and ministry for our triune God.