In my sermon last Sunday I announced to the congregation that I plan to retire as rector of St. Anne's in May 2016. This decision has been made with much soul-searching and prayer. I have loved being the rector of St. Anne's for the past fifteen and a half years. I cannot imagine a place where I would have been as happy or felt more useful as a priest. To do the work you love, in a place you love, with the people you love is the dream of a lifetime. My work at St. Anne's has not been work at all but a labor of love.

Kay and I plan to move to Wilmington, North Carolina where we have children and grandchildren. For almost twenty-five years I have been proud and privileged to be "father" to many. It is time to be father and grandfather to those closest to me. Our plans include building a house on a piece of property that sits on a creek just a half a mile from the Intracoastal Waterway. Teaching the little ones how to fish and boat is definitely on the agenda!

While I am retiring as a rector, my lifetime calling as a priest will not come to an end. My time at St. Anne's has been life-giving, for me and for Kay, and our ministry will continue. What form that will take only God knows, but we know that God is still calling us to continue our work for the Kingdom.

It was with my spiritual director and with advice from trusted friends who have retired from long successful pastorates that I have decided to take fourteen months to retire. We need time to say good-bye to each other, and Kay and I need time to say good-bye to St. Anne's.

At the same time, I did not want the amazing work that the staff and the congregation are doing to slow down in any way. We will all be working together to continue to lead the church, our community, and the greater community to do the work God has called us to do. In talking to the wardens, the vestry, other leaders and with the hearty approval of Bishop Shannon, we will start the search for the new rector immediately. This is not the way it is commonly done. Usually after the rector leaves there is time, eighteen months or so, where an interim rector comes in for the transition. Your Bishop and leadership believe that the search, led by Suzi Jones and with the whole congregation involved, will be able to do the work necessary to welcome the new rector shortly after our departure. I have committed myself to staying completely out of the search process. The staff and I just want to keep the vibrant programs we are now engaged in to continue moving forward.

For Kay and me this is a conflicted time; excitement about the future and sadness that we are leaving the church and the people we have grown to respect and love so strongly. But make no mistake, the God who brought us together continues to lead us all. That is the Love we rely on and the Love we know that will never leave us.

With my unending respect and love,

Fr Jim

Please click here to hear Sunday's sermon at which Father Jim announces his retirement.