Beginning of the end

Losses Losses Losses. This past week Redeemer suffered one more blow. Our communion vessels were stolen right under our noses. It is a difficult pill to swallow. But for me the miraculous thing is how the parish has reminded me of our vulnerability where our material possessions are concerned but of our strength in our relationships and our care and keeping of each other. Information on the loss is accessible at http://www.sunherald.com/pageone/story/845457.html .
Today I am mindful of how close it is to January and the end of my time at Redeemer and on the Gulf Coast. These two years have seemed to go by in a heartbeat. There is so much that I have done, so much that I have not done, and so much to be done. And then there is the overwhelming knowledge that it is God who has brought all of us together in this place to do this work and without whom our efforts would be fruitless.
When I arrived in Mississippi I believe that I was the only car on the road to have a snow shovel in the back. As I contemplate my return to Massachusetts, I am looking for a new one as I long ago ditched the old one. I came to Mississippi hoping to build bridges. On the one side would be the place of my birth where my heart lies with its love of the land and its open, welcoming embrace of neighbor. On the other, my new home with its proud sense of Yankee ingenuity and frugality and its sense of justice and equity for all people. I had hoped to be a vessel through which the best of both could be shared in conversation, in resources, and in coming to the Table together so that we could all benefit from each other’s graces. It is my hope that my return to Massachusetts will not mean an end to this relationship we have built together, but rather will be just the beginning of many years of partnership to come
In the coming weeks as Harold returns from sabbatical, I prepare to leave, and Redeemer prepares to enter into a new time of building and envisioning the future, I hope to have many who will share with me their insight into our two year journey. I want to sit with as many as we are able to listen, so that I might better understand my gifts and struggles as Redeemer’s priest and as your missionary and then be sent by you to pastor in a new place with energy, hope, and love. I am asking you to be my teachers, so that these bridges that we have built together will be stronger and longer lasting.
I wish that I had some news to share about our communion vessels, but I do not. One of the gifts that Redeemer has given to me is a perspective on loss. Many members came to me to assure me that Redeemer will get along without the silver because we still have our parish family. There are those bridges again.
God’s Peace be with you this week,
Jane+