“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”  Phil. 1:3-4

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

             “Time flies when you’re having fun!”  That old cliché has certainly rung true as I reflect back on our time together!  It has been such a joy for me (yes, even in “retirement”) to engage God’s Word with a specific purpose behind it – whether it be preparing sermons that hopefully make a difference or preparing presentations for confirmation instruction that engage young minds in the unfolding of the gospel story, or seeking to offer some leadership from a “faith” perspective to a congregation that is open and receptive to what God is up to in their lives.  These past twelve months have literally “flown by.” 

             Now I find myself in a very familiar place that presents itself with a mix of joy and sadness; a place that I have encountered before when I have had to say goodbye to a community of faith that has blessed me with their support and friendship.  The joy comes from the privilege of working with folks like you who take the gospel seriously and who have offered support and encouragement again and again as we have worked together.  The sadness comes knowing that that lively partnership is soon coming to an end.  Yet I thank God for the “mix” because it means that we have done something significant together, something that we can feel good about and something that has really mattered.

             Transitions hopefully are not simply occasions for “marking time” – for  standing in one place and just keeping things going.  Time doesn’t stand still and neither should we.  As I have worked with you this past year, I have sensed that it has not simply been a time when I have been involved in helping you say goodbye to a faithful servant who spent the past fifteen years with you, and then welcoming a new pastor who will soon begin his ministry among you.  It has also been a time when you have seriously taken a good look at who you are as a congregation and where you want to go from here.  We have begun the task of reflecting on thinking about what it means to move from a “pastoral” church to a “program” oriented church and what that means as we seek new leadership that will help us take that important step.  We have also attempted to think about moving from a “membership” mentality to a “discipleship” understanding  of what it means to be part of the church. 

             So while the “interim” has been a time when I have provided “services” of a sort – in doing the normal things that happen in a congregation – like leading worship on Sunday mornings, teaching confirmation and introducing Holy Communion as well as new Bibles to the younger folks, calling on the sick and welcoming new members and ministering to the grieving – it has also been a time when we have been “on the move” as a congregation in terms of its ministry and its mission.   Thank you for that!  It has been an invigorating time for this aging head of mine and I know that I have come out the better for it.

             So with the apostle Paul, I am sincerely “thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”  You have been a great blessing to me and I will give thanks to God again and again for you all.

Sincerely, Pastor “Dennis”