From The Fly in the Ointment by J. Russell Crabtree

We have come to the end of a wonderful chapter in the life of St. Francis Church. Now it is time to say farewell, as one season of life yields to another.

I am indebted to all of you who have prepared me for diocesan work, as you did my two immediate predecessors. I hope that, in turn, you have been prepared for even greater things to come as you continue to grow into the full stature of Christ through this time of transition and into the next season of welcoming a new rector into your midst. I think Crabtree is right: to call these past fifteen years a preamble to what lies ahead in no way diminishes how truly precious this season of life has been for me and I hope for all of you as well. God is not yet finished with us. May we continue to discover grace upon grace as we are transfigured and transformed and "memory [is] fused with a new context and a heart of discovery."

  

The first funeral I did at St. Francis was for a member of the Search Committee, Jane Wilson, who was fond of telling the Search Committee and me that "St. Francis gets the clergy they need for the season they need them." I believe those are wise and true words. We have accomplished much good work together. But the next chapter of St. Francis' life together will require a person with different gifts and different dreams. They will not be, and they should not be, Rich Simpson. (Trust me: one is more than enough!) So don't ask them to walk in my shoes or to walk a straight line forward from the path we have been on. It will take a while for you to get clear what you are looking for as the search process begins and then it will take some time after a new rector is called for his or her hopes and dreams to mesh with yours into a new synchronicity that will eventually lead to a "new normal." Please give them some time. But from day one, I hope you will be opening your hearts to that person and allowing them space in your lives as you have done for me. There is enough love, which is not a limited commodity.

  

The hardest baptisms, weddings, and funerals I did at St. Francis were those early ones. If they had the choice, I am sure that many of those people would have preferred to have had "Father Scruton" presiding at these important life-events. In 1998, Gordon was the priest that everyone loved and had known for fifteen years, while I was the new kid who was still being sized up. It was a challenging season for all of us. But this is also why pastoral relationships really must come to a clear ending. It is not simply because the diocese has rules about this. Rather, the diocese has rules about this, because it is important for the health of all to honor the boundaries of pastoral relationships.

  

While it will be tempting (and understandable) for people to want me to officiate at baptisms, weddings, and funerals, this is a temptation that must be resisted. Why? Because the time is coming when you will need to make room in your hearts for a new pastor and because these will be precisely the occasions which will open the door to a new pastoral relationship. Goodbyes are difficult, but when we do them well we are better prepared to offer sincere and healthy hellos. The greatest gift of pastoral ministry is to be invited into people's lives, especially on those occasions of birth and death and joy and sadness. Whoever follows me will need to serve in these ways, as I have, because those are the seeds of a new pastoral relationship that will ultimately bear much fruit.

  

No one should pretend that pastoral transitions are easy on either side. We have had long-standing pastoral ties, so the desire to hold onto those is perfectly understandable. (Trust me, it will be just as tempting for me.) Getting clear about pastoral boundaries does not mean that one does not care anymore. In fact, it means quite the opposite. I have had friends compare leaving parishes they loved to losing a limb. I am starting to understand what they mean. My gift to my successor, however, will be the same gift that Gordon Scruton so graciously gave to me: to stay away, for at least a while. When I do return it will be as the Canon to the Ordinary, not as the rector.

  

Over the course of the next year or so, I will be busy trying to integrate my past ministry experience into a new diocesan job. You, in turn, will be trying to integrate the first sixty years or so of the life of St. Francis Church with that of a new rector who comes with her or his own story and life experience. That is important work to be doing, work I think that helps us to discern where God is doing a new thing. I can't promise you that these transitions will be without pain or struggle. What I can only tell you is this: God will be in the midst of it all. So seek God first and put your trust there; all the rest will fall into place.

  

I am deeply grateful for the time we have shared and for the many expressions of kindness you have shown me over these past years. You will remain in my prayers, especially as this interim period begins and the search process gets started. And I will be praying for your new rector, that she or he will find this to be as wonderful a parish as I have. I like the idea of finishing (as if that were possible in parish ministry) on the Feast of Pentecost: a reminder to all of us that we are laborers in the vineyard and not the owner of vineyard. The work that has unfolded over these past fifteen years has been Spirit-led. The Spirit keeps guiding us into all truth, sometimes prodding, sometimes luring, sometimes coaxing, sometimes pushing us way out of our comfort zones. That good work will continue to unfold, guided by that same Spirit that has animated the Church since that first Pentecost in Jerusalem. The evidence that the Spirit is at work is that God's people, who continue to speak different "languages" are still able, by God's grace (and by practice) to hear one another "in our own native tongues" and then to bear much fruit by working together for the sake of God's mission.

  

Meister Eckhart once said, "if the only prayer you ever said was thank you, it would be enough." Over the past fifteen years I have been reminded virtually every day, and especially each weekend when we have gathered to make eucharisteo together (i.e. offer God our "great thanksgiving") how truly blessed Hathy and Graham and James and I have been to live and serve among the people of St. Francis, Holden. Of the many gifts that St. Francis has given to me along the way, I think the greatest of all may be that I have felt embraced as authentically myself, as a beloved child of God. I have not been made to feel spiritually schizophrenic in my work as your rector, caught between the role of "Fr. Simpson" and my life in Christ as "Rich." Too often both clergy and the people among whom they serve carry around clear ideas of what a priest should look like. The temptation is to try to become more and more "the collar," rather than becoming more and more comfortable in your own skin.  I don't think we've fallen into that trap. You have allowed and encouraged me to do this work in ways that have shown me how to become more fully the unique person God created me to be. This has allowed me to keep growing spiritually in what I believe have been healthy ways.

  

I wish I could tell you that this is the norm. The truth is that it can be a difficult gift both to give and to receive. So, thank you. The same holds true for each member of my family: none of whom have been forced to fit into a role or live in a fish bowl as "the rector's wife" or "the preacher's kids." Each has been honored and beloved as the unique child of God that they are, on their own faith journeys. St. Francis has been spacious enough for each of them to grow into that full stature of Christ and become more and more themselves. On their behalf, thank you.

  

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord's face shine upon you, and give you peace.

  

With great affection,

Rich

  

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE WARDENS -

FORMATION OF THE SEARCH, PROFILE AND TRANSITION COMMITEES

 

Over the past few weeks we have been working to form the Search, Profile and Transition committees, the first step in helping St. Francis navigate our upcoming changes.

 

We wish to convey our sincerest thanks to the over fifty St. Francis members who volunteered or were nominated to serve. The vital role that our faith community plays in the lives of so many is remarkable; the deep and genuine concern for St. Francis's future expressed by all is truly moving. We are exceptionally grateful to all of the nominees and volunteers and our only lament is that we could not appoint everyone to a committee. Our goal is to have each committee reflect the diversity of St. Francis.

 

We are pleased to announce the members of each committee are:

 

Search Committee                                Profile Committee                                 Transition Committee

Robin Carlo, Chair                                 Cynthia McIntyre, Chair                         Melanie Amaral, Chair

Tina Chen                                                Dick Delorme                                           Mary Ann DiPinto

Cassie Clemente                                    Nancy Pope                                              Sally Holden

Kyle Deane                                              Jane Howell                                             Tom Miller

Pete Glanville                                         Dawn Rooke                                             Mary Jude Pigsley

Leigh King                                                Julie Mankowsky                                    Ann Polletta

Esteban Loustaunau                             Caroline Galvinhill                                   Sarah Ribeiro

Joe Reynolds                                          Greg McGurin                                          Catherine Richard

Ann Scannell                                                                                                              Marjorie Tremblay

Luanne Westerling

Bryan Diehl

 

Our special thanks to Rev. Paul Taylor and the committee chairs for their help in guiding us through this very important first stage.

 

We will be actively seeking the thoughts and input of everyone at St. Francis in the coming weeks and months and encourage you to provide the Wardens, Committee chairs and Committee members your feedback. Thanks again to everyone who was nominated or volunteered. We ask for your prayers and support as we move through this transition period together.

 

                       Bev Giarusso, Junior Warden                       Craig Stanovich, Senior Warden

                       bgiarusso@verizon.net                                  cstanovich@austinstanovich.com