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June 02, 2009
Interim Rector's Reflections - June
Dear Friends in Christ,
Many of you will have heard by now that the vestry has received the names of the finalists for your new rector from the New Rector Search Committee. There are three finalists, and it is likely that the vestry will call someone by the end of June. That means, of course, that I will be leaving you soon. I am delighted that our journey together is coming to a good end, but I will miss you all very much.
Beginning at a time of tremendous grief and disappointment, Trinity has moved into a place of new life and growth. This has not been an easy journey. Nor is it a process that simply disappears now that we are coming to the end of it. All the sorrow, hard work, frustration, anxiety, anger, and questioned faith are built into what Trinity is now, and what it will become in the future. As are the thoughtfulness, kindness, compassion, learning, apologies, forgiveness, and spiritual depth. Trinity could not be ready to call a new rector—and begin a new relationship with that person—without having lived through, felt and built on the circumstances which resulted from Mike’s death.
Together we have solidified and added to Mike’s work, particularly in the areas of the Sunday services and Christian formation. Some of his vision has been lost or delayed. Some will take a different shape, in the light of who you are now, as well as the vision of your new rector. The common thread is that God was working in Mike, God has been working in us, God continues to work in you, and God will be working in your new rector. God’s presence is utterly reliable.
However, the depth of your relationship with God—as with any relationship—is partly determined by your willingness to give it priority. Much of the goodness and growth of the last year has been a product of your willingness to go deeper with God. As you know, that was one of my goals when you called me here, and it means a lot to me to see that spiritual growth happening. And so, in the trust that you will continue to grow in knowledge and love of God, I leave you with the words of the Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton on quiet time with God:
We all need time to be alone with God. God needs to get a word in edgewise, and we’re so busy and so noisy that he usually can’t. ‘But I have so little time to myself,’ we protest: ‘I can’t add one more thing to my day, not one, and you want me to pray, too?’ But prayer isn’t something you add to your day. It doesn’t go on top of everything else; it goes on the bottom. It supports the other things you have on your plate, all of them. The time you spend in quiet prayer—and that includes saying absolutely nothing at all, just letting God sit with you in silence—multiplies the value of all your other time. It puts things in perspective, helps you see the bigger picture of your life, to distinguish between the important and the merely urgent. Allows things to occur to you that you hadn’t considered before.
God bless you all, Corrie+
