Saying goodbye is never easy, and—for a pastor—it’s like saying goodbye to a whole family at once. In the Episcopal Church, departure is a bright boundary: my job is to leave my congregations with love, but also with firm commitment to stay away so that you can wholeheartedly welcome your new pastor. No comparisons (which might be for good or for ill) allowed!
For those of you who may not yet know, I am retiring (alongside my husband, who retired two months ago) to live our next life adventure together. I look to you Villagers for inspiration: you know how to retire with dignity and delight! Because Trinity Cathedral is a bilingual community, I often find myself thinking in my second language—Spanish—in which the verb for retire is “jubilar.” It echoes the Biblical jubilee, a period of rest and renewal which was to occur after every seventh Sabbath year. That is, every 50 years: when the land would rest, workers would be freed, and debts be forgiven. It wasn’t a permanent cessation of farming or commerce, but it was intended to re-set and restore the relations that sustain us.
I like to think of my goodbye-saying and retirement that way. As a moment to pause and give thanks for the communities that I have served (and that sustain me) before returning to ministry in new ways. So farewell for now, and I look forward to seeing you on the other side of jubilee!
Please join us Sundays at 9 a.m. at Montgomery Center for worship and fellowship.
