Therefore, my beloved . . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and work for God’s good pleasure . . . I am glad and rejoice with all of you – and in the same way you must also be glad and rejoice with me.” Philippians 2:12-13; 17-18
What a gift God has given to St. Mark in these glorious days of Easter! After many months of searching and prayerfully listening for the call of God’s Spirit, the Pastor Nominating Committee brings to us a candidate. On June 11, there will be a Congregational Meeting to formally elect the PNC’s candidate as the new Pastor/Head-of-Staff. That person will begin as St. Mark’s pastor sometime later in the summer.
It is with great hope and trust in God’s goodness that I rejoice in the gift of new life that is given to St. Mark. I’m excited about the prospective pastor’s arrival; I have no doubt that God is leading the way to greater faithfulness, deeper joy, and abundant new life for St. Mark.
With the announcement of a pastor candidate, I feel the time is right for me to begin my personal discernment and transition process. Providing that the congregation acts favorably on June 11, my final day as your interim pastor will be June 30 (June 25 will be my final Sunday). This will also allow the congregation to have the necessary space to fully anticipate the next season of ministry and to freely welcome and embrace a new leader.
During the past two years, it has been my privilege to work alongside you during this interim time.
As a pastor and people together, building on an already strong reputation, we have cast a vision for St. Mark as a traditional, friendly, caring, and active church, and are ready to confidently embrace a new season of ministry.
I rejoice in all that we have brought forth through God’s grace. I am grateful for all those who worked to help this congregation become more intentional about its identity and focus, and develop a renewed sense of purpose. Together we have solidified the church’s financial situation by emphasizing our role as “living stones” during our Stewardship campaign, and continue building ourselves into a “spiritual house” with creative and interactive worship experiences such as this year’s Holy Week services. But what was most thrilling for me was being allowed to become an intimate part of your lives through sharing worship, lunches and dinners, coffee and conversations, golf and Cardinals’ games, hospital visits and funerals, and baptisms.
In the same way, I hope that you will be glad and rejoice with me. I am grateful for the way that this congregation has nurtured and supported my ministry. I will carry the love of this congregation with me, and that love will shape and guide my discernment as I listen for God’s calling upon my future. I know that God will use my experience at St. Mark to strengthen and ready me for a coming ministry, whatever or wherever that might be.
Thank you for the privilege of serving as your interim pastor. It is difficult for me to leave people I so dearly love, and who have so warmly loved and cared for me. I continue to hold each one of you in my heart. Let us pray for God’s presence during this time of endings and beginnings, and let us give thanks, be glad, and rejoice for our journey together.
Grace & peace, Pastor Jim
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