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Categories: Carillon Newsletter,News,Reflections

Thoughts from Pastor Matt…

Pastor Matt

Well, friends, by now I imagine you all have heard the news of Pastor Nancy’s new call to become the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hartford and, therefore, of her upcoming departure from her ministry with and among us here at SCC. 

As Bryan Klimkiewicz and I said in our letter to the congregation, these moments always come with a serious mix of sadness and excitement—primarily excitement for the one who’s being invited into a new opportunity, and sadness for what that means in terms of separation and the ending of what has been.  As you can imagine, by virtue of our roles, Nancy and I have worked closely together quite a lot over these past eight years, and despite our differences in personality and working style—or perhaps because of them—that has been a good, healthy, and enjoyable working relationship for us both.  I value all that Nancy has brought to our congregation and to so many others around our community.  I will miss my coworker and partner-in-ministry, and I am proud of and excited for Nancy as she sets sail into new ventures.

These next few weeks, as we say our mutual good-byes together, will be important for us.  This congregation unfortunately knows that clergy transitions don’t always happen under the best circumstances, and so this is a good opportunity to model for ourselves what a ‘good good-bye’ can be. 

Undoubtedly, there will be those among us who are already wondering “what’s next?”  And that’s absolutely natural and understandable—certainly it’s a question that’s already crossed my mind a bit.  But let me counsel us all that there will be time to figure that out.  In the coming few months, our Governing Board will determine how to best engage our whole congregation in discerning what comes next, and then actually engage us all together in that holy conversation as we seek out what we best feel may be God’s will for us in new seasons.  Those seasons of discernment and engagement are approaching, but aren’t quite here yet.  This season, rather, is about celebrating what has been… and tending to one another with our strongest gifts of grace, generosity, and compassion… empowering one another to continue the gospel-proclaiming, Christ-embodying ministry that we all are called to in every season… and praising and thanking God amidst all of it!

Yours in the journey,

Matt


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