And now comes the time to say goodbye.
The close of our interim ministry (I mean yours and mine) is drawing near. My last Sunday in your pulpit will be June 21. We will use the coffee hour time after worship that day to recognize the work we did together and honor the contributions of many church members with our annual awards. I’ll spend the last week of the month organizing files and cleaning out my office. The last day of my contract is June 30.
This month, I’m doing several things to finish up. This is my last column for the Advance. I wrote a lengthy Interim Ministry Appraisal for the UUA, which I will share with your Board of Trustees at their June 16 meeting. I’ll also attend the Board retreat on June 6 to pass on institutional knowledge to your new leadership.
For several weeks now I have been writing and collecting extensive documentation of the church. What are the groups? Who are the people? How does worship get organized? What meetings is the minister expected to attend? What are the unspoken culture and traditions that must be honored? My goal, by the middle of this month, is to create a reference for Lissa that tells all the stories and gives her a heads up on what she’ll need to know to make a good start. I’ll leave both a notebook of material as well as digital files. Of course, she’ll need to read my reflections as mine but at least the documentation will let her know where she needs to start her investigations.
One further piece of helpful work is a covenant Lissa and I created to cover this last month of my interim ministry and the transition into her settled ministry. Our two guiding principles are “good endings make good beginnings” and “informed but not involved.”
The first means that the focus of this last month of interim should be on making a gracious close for these two and a half years and not leaving anything undone that would linger into the next year. We have journeyed a long way together. Abrupt and unconsidered partings leave wounds. Let’s well conclude our shared business before we turn our attention in separate directions to what comes next.
The second guiding principle recognizes that while we are focused on ending a ministry, Lissa is preparing to begin. It’s appropriate to keep Lissa informed of what you’re doing and what you’re planning, but don’t yet ask her to attend meetings or offer opinions. She needs room to end her current ministry. And she isn’t formally your minister until August 1. During July, you can be more in touch if you feel you need to, but I suggest, for both you and Lissa, that you consider July a sabbath month. Give yourselves a rest from the work of this church year before you dive into the excitement of the next.
It has been a pleasure to be your minister. We faced challenges together. We worked hard. We accomplished much. We leave some work unfinished, as does every ministry. I have confidence in your strength, in your vision, in your leaders. I trust your minds and admire your hearts. I have faith in your spirits. The church is healthy. The foundations are solid. You are capable of taking care of each other and doing good work in the world.
I will be out of sight in the coming year. But I will be watching, and praying, and cheering for you; eager to see where you take your church next; and proud, now, to be a part of your history.