Be the Right Person
(based on a previous letter to church members dated April 16, 2008)
Several of you at various times over the last three years have said to me, “You were the right person at the right time.” I have always felt affirmed by this comment. And I believe that it has been the right appointment in pastoral ministry for me at PPUMC. Your hospitality to my family and your commitment to living lives of faith have been a blessing—to us, to one another, and to the neighborhood.
But at this point, there has been a new discernment about my ministry emerging from the leaders of the Minnesota Annual Conference, staff at Hamline University, and myself. I have been invited to take up a new position as Chaplain and Director of the (new) Wesley Center for Spirituality, Service and Social Justice, at Hamline. The appointment would begin July 1st, and I have agreed to serve.
I realize this change comes in the midst of other important changes in the life of the congregation, specifically the renovation of the sanctuary this summer, and a new interim organist and custodian coming on board too. But I also know that there is such strong leadership in the life of this congregation and a new clergy leader will bring new gifts and be the right person at the right time--for this time.
Donna Shaheen will be working with members of the Staff-Pastor-Parish-Relations Committee to update the church’s profile, and Rev. Liz Lopez, our District Superintendent will be meeting with SPPR in early May to talk about the vision of the congregation. Then the members of the Bishop’s Cabinet (the District Superintendents) will discern a clergy candidate for the appointment, who will then meet to “test the waters” with SPPR. If you would like to offer input, please talk with Donna or Abigail Ozanne, our lay leader, and other members of SPPR—Tom Clausen, Steve Kerrigan, Roxanne Lockhart, Steve Ozanne, Bob Rogers, and Julia Thornton Snider.
I would also invite you to take some time to discern for yourself—is God nudging you to become the right person for the right time in terms of the renewal of ministry in this congregation? There are several key leadership positions that I will be discerning with others before I leave in mid-June. These positions would begin the end of August—thanks for your consideration:
Co-Lay Leader (with Abigail Ozanne)
Treasurer (thank you to Kate Wulf)
Chairperson of SPPR (thank you to Donna Shaheen)
Chairperson of Finance (thank you to Lucy Suits)
