|
‘May
You Fare Well'
I write
this article with mixed emotions and a heavy heart. As I stated
in my letter to all of you, I am very sad to be leaving you.
For any of you who might not have received my letter of resignation,
let me summarize that letter.... At the Session meeting on
Saturday January 21st, I asked that they honor my request
to resign as Pastor of T.A.P.C. They graciously concurred
and at the congregational meeting on Sunday January 22nd they
formally voted on the dissolution of the pastoral relationship
as of March 15th. My last Sunday in the pulpit will be March
11th. This will allow me to accept the call of the Session
of the Bethany Presbyterian Church of Mercer, PA to become
their Interim Pastor.
As many
of you know I had announced that I would be retiring sometime
in 2012, but this moved the process up a few months. After
41 years in the ministry and going on 12 years here at TAPC,
I really feel we have accomplished most of the goals we had
set out together back in 2000. The culmination of the church's
20th anniversary last summer, and retiring the mortgage debt,
with the gift of the McCrady's, are just some of the factors
that I feel are the Lord's way of saying that it's time for
me to move on to another call.
I know
for many of you this will come as a complete surprise and
in some ways it is also a surprise for me. This was not an
easy decision to make for it will be very difficult to leave
so many friends. I am especially saddened that it comes at
a time when many of you are wintering in the southland. It
was not my intention to leave quite this soon and I did not
initiate this process. This church sought me out and after
much soul searching and prayer, I felt a strong call to the
Bethany church. Patty and I have always set a possible goal
‘to go back home' to retire. This will allow us to see
if that is what we will be able to do. This call is to the
Presbytery where I began my ministry over 41 years ago.
As I reflect,
it truly has been a wonderful and productive pastorate with
all of you. The Lord has blessed me richly in being able to
share with you the joys of over 11 ½ years of ministry.
You have been the most gracious and loving congregation I
have served in my 41 years of ministry, and I mean that with
all my heart! We have become very attached to so many of you
and count you as our friends. We are already experiencing
grief as we contemplate the change soon to come. We thank
God for the all the milestones and the many blessings we've
had together. Please hold us and the church in your prayers
as we all undergo this time of transition.
Remember,
when Christians say ‘good-bye', it is simply short
for ‘God be with you' until we meet again. We
really never have to say good-bye with finality. So
if I don't see you in church anymore, Patty and I will
see you later! May you fare well in God's Shalom.
|
