Transitions

Here we are at the end of June. The local church I serve is saying goodbye to our Associate Pastor as she's been given a new appointment with a congregation in the western part of the Virginia Conference. She'll take this new position effective July 1. Needless to say the office is a mess right now as she's trying to get everything packed up and ready to move, plus she's preaching her final message on the 27th while we celebrate our first ever "Volunteer Day" which she's organized. I hope the church she's going to is aware of the fireball they're getting. While she's been here we've added a "Blue" Christmas service, an annual service on World Aids Day, and now a recognition of all the various folks that serve our community. We'll miss her.

Who's taking her place? It's amazing how God works in situations like this. Our Staff-Parish Relations Committee decided that we'd not ask for a new Associate Pastor appointee from Conference, but hire an "Assistant" Pastor instead to be able to create the salary scale and benefits. This was a result of last year's budget crunch we experienced that saw us eliminate 4 staff positions and give the remaining staff pay cuts of either 6% or 11%. So, who'd they hire? A 25 year old woman who's just graduated from Duke Seminary. Yep, she's 25. And from everything I've heard about her she's going to be an asset to the church. For those of us hoping for renewal and rebirth we're very excited. This is a step in the right direction. Her primary focus will be youth (and most likely young adult) ministry, but I know that there will be those in our congregation who will assume she knows nothing because of her age. That's a shame, but they'll learn otherwise. Hopefully very quickly.

So, as we suffer through these unusually (for June) hot days here in Virginia, I know there's a cool breeze about to blow through our place. And I can't wait.

Maranatha.