Keep Moving Forward

Beloveds,

By now you’ve gotten the news about Amelie’s decision to end her service at Saint John’s. We had all hoped for her return to wellness and to the Parish, but this has turned out to be more challenging to the specialists than expected, and so, with the blessing of the Bishop and the Vestry, she has decided to leave.

That said – and I know this from experience – we never completely leave the parishes that we serve. By that I mean that we continue to love and pray for the parishioners we served, and we pray for the best possible future for those places.

All of us priests are, in a way, companions for one stage of your journey. If your faith journey is lifelong, as it is for many of us, it will be like the Camino de Santiago, that very well-known and very long pilgrimage that includes crossing borders and across Spain until you reach Santiago de Compostela, on the western coast of Spain. Some pilgrims go a little bit beyond that, to Finisterre, “the end of the earth”, where you can bathe your tired feet in the Atlantic Ocean.

One of the realities of the Camino is that you encounter other pilgrims along the way. You may walk with them for several days or a few hours. You may see them again further down the road. They are companions for the journey, but they are rarely companions for the whole journey. You are grateful for what they have shared with you, be it breakfast in an inn off the road, or a good story, or tears, or laughter.

This journey that we priests take with you is like the Camino. We will be your companions for a part of the journey, be it almost a decade like Amelie, or for a few months, like me. We are grateful to be a part of your story, of your journey.

Feeling the loss of a beloved rector is a reminder that we are always on some sort of journey, and we don’t always get to keep the same companion throughout the whole journey, as much as we would prefer it. But the thing we hear in this Sunday’s readings is this: Jesus is on the move. He goes from place to place. He teaches and heals. He answers thorny questions. And then he blesses them and moves on. We, too, go from place to place. We look for a faith community that will welcome us, support us, celebrate together and help us move further along the path to the knowledge of Christ. As with all journeys, there will be days when we feel like we will never get to the end of it. There are days when we have a chance encounter with someone who says something that reorients our way of thinking. There are days when we have to just sit still and let our blisters heal. And then we move forward.

It is hard to say goodbye to Amelie, with whom we have shared so much. And yet, as Jesus demonstrates, we are meant to keep moving on our own Camino as a parish.

And so, we will. In due course, when she is up to it, we will have a celebration and thanksgiving for Amelie’s service as Rector at St. John’s. And we will eventually have an interim Rector, a full-time priest who will help you continue to move forward toward calling a new permanent Rector.

This isn’t a quick process, although I expect that St. John’s, being St. John’s, will do it in a sensitive and effective manner. Our Vestry will work with the Rev. Will Dickinson, the Transition Minister for our Diocese, to carry out the process going forward.

And that’s my challenge to you. Keep moving forward. I’ve said a few times that St. John’s is a parish that sits at the corner of history and the future, honoring our complex story and seeking a future that aligns with what Jesus has taught us is good and right and true. It is particularly true in this moment. Look back with thanksgiving; look forward with hope.

God is with you, and for the time being, I am too.

Be blessed and be a blessing-

Mary+