With great sadness, I am resigning as your temporary supply
pastor effective June 30, 2015. My
final Sunday in the pulpit will be June 21st.
You may be surprised by this decision. Frankly, I did not
expect to be sitting here today. I had every intention of being with you at
least through the end of 2015.
I know it sounds like a political cliché to say that I am
resigning to spend more time with my family, but it is true. Over the summer, I will be
doing the tough work of getting our house ready to sell so we can respond
quickly to looming changes for our family. Over the past few months, I
have prayerfully wrestled with this decision, and I am certain that God is
calling me to focus on family transitions, at least for now.
I do not know exactly where or how God will call me in
future ministry. I will continue working with the Unglued Church project, as
well as in mission, peacemaking, racial justice and reconciliation, and, more
broadly, helping with the on-going discernment of how God is calling our
denomination into the future. I do not know if I will receive a call to parish
ministry, or if I will serve the Church in some other capacity. I will continue
praying for clarity in how I may best use my gifts for the sake of the Gospel.
Over the past year, we have shared as a congregation the incredibly hard work of discerning how God is
calling Emsworth U.P. into the future. I know it’s been difficult. I truly believe, however,
that you have every tool you need to make a faithful decision about the future
of this church, and that the work need not slow down when I leave you.
As I have said from the very first day I arrived at Emsworth
U.P. more than four years ago, the mission of this church isn’t about the
pastor or her vision. It is about your sense of who God is calling you
to be and how you will faithfully participate in the mission of Jesus Christ in
this community.
You should also know that Rev. Sarah Robbins will serve as moderator of the session, and will continue working with you to provide the
support and resources you need to carry out the decisions you make as a
congregation.
Okay. Here’s
another cliché that happens to be true. This church will always be in my heart.
As long as I am in Pittsburgh, I look forward to seeing many of you at
presbytery meetings, branch gatherings, committee meetings, and other
gatherings of our close-knit Presbyterian family.
My deepest prayer is that you will not treat my departure as
a reason to abandon the work you’ve been doing to move into God’s future for
this church. You can depend upon the
faithfulness of God and the love you have for one another. Each one of you will
be in my prayers, just as I’ve prayed for you every day for the past four
years. I can’t wait to hear how Jesus continues to live and work through you.
After June 21st, this blog will largely inactive, although I will leave it up as a resource for the church and your next pastor. Otherwise, I encourage you to visit Emsworth U.P.'s brand new website at http://emsworthupchurch.org
With love and gratitude,
Susan
