Time of Transition
FROM THE RECTOR
Sometimes in a pastoral setting, I quote the passage from Ecclesiastes 3 that reminds us, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” The Bible does not explain why a time for planting has become a time to pluck up what has been planted, but the gentle reminder that life’s seasons come and go, always following one after another, can be a helpful grounding when things are changing so quickly and significantly that life begins to feel a little out of control.
Right now, in my own life, I am holding onto those words with white-knuckle tightness. Everything is changing. A long season of flourishing gave way to the season of Covid, and, although the effects of the pandemic are not over, a season of return and renewal has come but with different priorities and limitations. A blissfully long and largely uninterrupted run of gains in the stock market has been replaced by a period of sharp decline and inflation with looming uncertainty ahead. Supreme Court decisions and primary elections have reminded us how quickly the status quo can disappear. Climate change is ushering in new realities faster than we can adapt to them, and even more rapid and substantial changes are ahead.
Although those universal changes affect all of us, each of us also experiences our own transitions as one season follows another. This year, two of our four children are in different schools, which requires a complete recalibration of our morning routine. New extracurricular activities mean new afternoon and evening commitments, and that means a change in our weekly schedule. A minor injury has sidelined me from running for a while, and, although I can find other ways to take care of myself, the loss of a familiar pursuit has rippling effects throughout my life. The changeability of it all underscores how any unplanned event—a diagnosis, a death, a tornado, a fire—has the power to fling us in a blink from the life we know so well to one we never imagined inhabiting.
At St. Paul’s, as our programs and ministries start back with the new school year, a season of familiar transition is being overshadowed by some unexpected changes. After twenty-three years on our parish staff, Suzanne Stoner is retiring. I trust that we will find and call a new priest with deep pastoral gifts and whose focus will be on caring for us, but nothing can replace a quarter-century of her tender, warm, loving care. The search itself creates a little anxiety within me, but the thought of losing Suzanne’s contribution to our parish is terrifying. I know that one season of loving pastoral care will give way to another, but inhabiting that change is hard.
On top of Suzanne’s retirement, Joy Poole, our Parish Administrator, is moving to Denver, where her husband has started a new job, and, as we announced to our youth and parents on Tuesday, Emma Mitchell is moving to Little Rock, where she will begin ministry at the Cathedral as the Director of Children, Youth, and Families. Each of us will experience those departures in a different way. Emma has done a fabulous job as our Youth Minister, and I know that our teenagers will feel sharply the loss of one who has cared for them so well for three years. Joy has helped each of us stay in touch with our own giving and the finances of the church, and, as we experienced four years ago when Suzi Freeman retired, any change in that position has significant implications for the whole congregation. Our staff, as you can imagine, feels a little upside-down, as three full-time members announce their plans to leave and the three different searches for new staff unfold. I think we all have confidence that what is ahead of us will be more good, fruitful, faithful ministry, but standing in the middle of the change makes that a little harder to see.
As the wisdom of Ecclesiastes reminds us, everything has a season, and every holy purpose comes in its own perfect time. Sometimes we are called to cast away stones, and other times we are invited to gather them together to build something new. The author makes it clear that certain seasons come with great difficulty, but we are encouraged to persist through them without losing hope. The only warning the author gives us is to highlight the danger of confusing our limited experience with the unfathomable eternity of God. As the collect at Compline reminds us, we are anchored by the unwavering truth that, despite all the changes and chances of this life, we rest in God’s eternal changelessness—God’s unfailing love and care for the world.
If you are feeling a little out of sorts right now, perhaps you take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. Many of us feel that—both as individuals and as members of a community and world that are experiencing profound transitions. I believe that all of these changes—even and perhaps especially the unwanted ones—are opportunities for new growth, but that does not make them any easier. Through it all, God is with us, and God never fails to guide us from one season into the next.
Yours Faithfully,
Evan D. Garner